Docker Desktop Docker Plugins Uncontrolled Search Path Element Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2025-15558 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | Docker |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-03-04 17:16:14 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-06-30 03:16:47 UTC |
| Description | Docker CLI for Windows searches for plugin binaries in C:\ProgramData\Docker\cli-plugins, a directory that does not exist by default. A low-privileged attacker can create this directory and place malicious CLI plugin binaries (docker-compose.exe, docker-buildx.exe, etc.) that are executed when a victim user opens Docker Desktop or invokes Docker CLI plugin features, and allow privilege-escalation if the docker CLI is executed as a privileged user. This issue affects Docker CLI: through 29.1.5 and Windows binaries acting as a CLI-plugin manager using the github.com/docker/cli/cli-plugins/manager https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/docker/[email protected]+incompatible/cli-plugins/manager package, such as Docker Compose. This issue does not impact non-Windows binaries, and projects not using the plugin-manager code. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 7 HIGH from [email protected]
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:U/V:X/RE:X/U:X
EPSS: 0.004720000 probability, percentile 0.374030000 (date 2026-07-02)
Problem Types: CWE-427 | CWE-427 CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path Element | CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path Element
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | [email protected] | Secondary | 7 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 7 | HIGH | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/AU:N/R:U |
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Primary | 8 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | ADP | CVSS | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | Secondary | 7.3 | HIGH | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
Attack Vector
LocalAttack Complexity
LowAttack Requirements
NonePrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
PassiveConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighSub Conf.
NoneSub Integrity
NoneSub Availability
NoneCVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:P/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:N/R:U/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
LowPrivileges Required
LowUser Interaction
RequiredScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
HighIntegrity
HighAvailability
HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version | Update | Edition | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | Docker | Command Line Interface | All | All | All | All |
| Operating System | Microsoft | Windows | - | All | All | All |
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-CAN-28304 | [email protected] | www.zerodayinitiative.com | Not Applicable |
| security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-15558.json | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | security.access.redhat.com | |
| github.com/docker/cli/pull/6713 | [email protected] | github.com | Issue Tracking, Patch |
| access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-15558 | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | access.redhat.com | |
| docs.docker.com/desktop/release-notes | [email protected] | docs.docker.com | Release Notes |
| bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi | 0b0ca135-0b70-47e7-9f44-1890c2a1c46c | bugzilla.redhat.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Nitesh Surana (niteshsurana.com) of Trend Research of TrendAI (en)
Additional Advisory Data
| Source | Time | Event |
|---|---|---|
| ADP | 2026-03-04T17:01:09.062Z | Reported to Red Hat. |
| ADP | 2026-03-04T16:14:32.045Z | Made public. |
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.