Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessAccess BuildKit low-level gRPC API socket
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DeliveryCraft malicious file-deletion API message with path traversal payload
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ExploitTrigger build session to activate message processing
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ExecutionTraversal escapes container rootfs mount
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ImpactHost /tmp directory contents deleted
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK
2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up. |
| Exploitation Conditions | Exploitation requires: (1) local access to the BuildKit daemon's API socket or endpoint (AV:L) - the attacker must be able to submit raw low-level build API messages, not merely invoke 'docker build'; (2) a specific attack precondition is present (AT:P) - the attacker must control the build API message payload, which in practice means either being the build client, compromising it, or injecting content into a Dockerfile/build context that reaches the low-level API; (3) active user interaction (UI:A) - a build operation must be initiated or already in progress. Exploitation is limited by: the requirement for local API access (not a remote/internet-facing vector by default); the need for an active build session; and the constrained impact (host /tmp destruction only, no code execution or data exfiltration). Default Docker CLI usage does not expose the low-level API to untrusted input, so standard 'docker build' users face lower residual risk than environments exposing the BuildKit daemon API directly to less-trusted clients. |
| Impact | Real-world risk is low-to-moderate and well-represented by the 3.3 score. The CVSS 4.0 vector is AV:L (local attack surface - the BuildKit socket or API must be reachable), AT:P (specific precondition - control over the low-level build API message format, not merely running a normal build), UI:A (active user interaction required - a build session must be in progress or triggered), PR:N (no formal privilege level required within the API), and VC:N/VI:L/VA:L (no confidentiality loss; low integrity and availability impact). No EPSS data was provided; however, given no KEV status, no POC, and the constrained local/interactive vector, opportunistic mass exploitation is unlikely. The primary real-world scenario is a malicious or compromised build client in a CI/CD pipeline targeting the BuildKit daemon. Destroying /tmp can cause denial-of-service for processes depending on temporary files but does not grant code execution or credential access. CVSS indicates no scope-change impact on the subsequent system (host), which slightly under-represents the host /tmp data destruction - this discrepancy should be noted and verified against the vendor advisory. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker with the ability to submit crafted messages to the BuildKit low-level build API - for example, a malicious CI/CD pipeline step, a compromised build tool, or a rogue build script - sends a specially constructed file-deletion instruction that embeds a path traversal sequence. When BuildKit processes the message during a build session, the deletion escapes the container rootfs mount and removes files under the host's /tmp directory, disrupting any host processes relying on temporary storage. No public POC has been identified, but the API message format is documented, lowering the conceptual barrier to exploitation for a technically skilled attacker with API access. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Jul 21, 2026
Path traversal in BuildKit's low-level build API allows crafted messages to redirect the container rootfs file-deletion action onto the real host /tmp directory, wiping its contents. All published moby/buildkit versions are affected per the broad CPE cpe:2.3:a:moby:buildkit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*. No public exploit code or active exploitation has been identified at time of analysis; the vendor-assigned CVSS score of 3.3 (CVSS 4.0) correctly reflects a constrained impact - host /tmp destruction rather than arbitrary code execution or credential exposure.
RemediationAI
Upgrade to the patched BuildKit release identified in the GitHub Security Advisory at https://github.com/moby/buildkit/security/advisories/GHSA-32pv-7hq5-qhwq - the exact fix version is not confirmed from available data and must be taken directly from the advisory. As a compensating control pending upgrade, restrict access to the BuildKit low-level gRPC API socket (typically /run/buildkit/buildkitd.sock) to only trusted, authorized build clients; this trades off build flexibility for a reduced attack surface. Additionally, consider running the BuildKit daemon in rootless mode, which limits the blast radius of a host /tmp traversal since the effective 'host /tmp' visible to the daemon is scoped to the user's namespace. Do not expose the BuildKit API over a network listener (AV:L confirms the expected local vector) as a defense-in-depth measure.
Affected VersionsENISA
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in euvd
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
BuildKit is Moby's low-level container image build engine, used as the backend for 'docker build' and similar tooling. It exposes a gRPC-based API that clients use to send build instructions, including file system operations against the build container's rootfs. The root cause is CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory - 'Path Traversal'): the file-deletion operation fails to canonicalize or jail the target path, allowing a crafted path in the API message to traverse out of the container rootfs mount and resolve to the host filesystem's /tmp directory. The affected CPE cpe:2.3:a:moby:buildkit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* covers all version branches, indicating the flaw is not version-range-limited. The CVSS 4.0 vector (AV:L/AT:P) confirms exploitation requires local access and a specific attack precondition - typically the ability to submit messages to the BuildKit daemon's low-level API, not just the high-level 'docker build' CLI.
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Severity by source
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Local vector with scope change to host /tmp; no privileges required but user interaction (active build session) needed; no confidentiality impact, low integrity and availability.
Primary rating from Vendor (Docker).
CVSS VectorVendor: Docker
Lifecycle Timeline
3DescriptionCVE.org
A crafted message in the BuildKit low-level build API can be used to remove the contents of the /tmp directory. The action that can normally be used to delete files inside the build container rootfs can escape into the real host temp directory.
Threat Intelligence Overview
How this decision was reached
The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.
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Denial of service in Moby BuildKit allows a low-privileged remote user to crash the BuildKit daemon by submitting a buil
Path traversal in the BuildKit daemon allows a client with valid control API access to craft a malicious upload request
Denial of service in Moby BuildKit allows anyone able to submit an LLB build definition to a buildkitd daemon to panic a
Denial of service in the BuildKit Dockerfile frontend (buildkitd) allows a user who can submit a build context to exhaus
Denial of service in Docker BuildKit (moby/buildkit) allows a malicious or compromised client or frontend to crash the B
BuildKit (moby/buildkit) contains a policy-validation bypass in which a specially crafted Git source build step makes a
BuildKit, the container build engine used by Docker and exposed through `docker build`/buildx, can be tricked into perfo
BuildKit can cache a fetched snapshot under a claimed content digest without adequately verifying that the blob bytes ma
Moby BuildKit (all versions in the affected range per the unbounded CPE cpe:2.3:a:moby:buildkit:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*) can be
EUVD-2026-46310
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
Vulnrichment
GitHub
Exploit-DB