CVE-2025-15558
HIGH
GHSA-p436-gjf2-799p
CVSS Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Lifecycle Timeline
3Description
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.
Analysis
Docker CLI for Windows searches for plugin binaries in C:\ProgramData\Docker\cli-plugins, a directory that does not exist by default. [CVSS 8.0 HIGH]
Technical Context
Classified as CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element). Affects Command Line Interface. 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 a
Affected Products
Vendor: Docker. Product: Command Line Interface.
Remediation
A vendor patch is available — apply it immediately. Restrict network access to the affected service where possible.
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External POC / Exploit Code
Leaving vuln.today