diff --git a/backend/Dockerfile b/backend/Dockerfile
index 2405c923..e4ad7745 100644
--- a/backend/Dockerfile
+++ b/backend/Dockerfile
@@ -30,8 +30,9 @@ WORKDIR /app
 # Upgrade all packages to fix security vulnerabilities (OpenSSL, libexpat, BusyBox CVEs)
 RUN apk upgrade --no-cache
 
-# Upgrade npm to latest to fix tar, minimatch, brace-expansion CVEs in npm's own deps
-RUN npm install -g npm@latest
+# Upgrade npm to fix tar, minimatch, brace-expansion CVEs in npm's own deps
+# Pin to 10.x to stay compatible with Node 22 Alpine (npm 11.x has dependency issues)
+RUN npm install -g npm@10
 
 # Install dumb-init for proper signal handling and postgresql-client for database checks
 RUN apk add --no-cache dumb-init postgresql-client