CVE-2025-15558
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…
Does this matter?
High impact if exploited, but EPSS currently rates exploitation as unlikely (0.47%). Schedule it in the normal patch cycle and watch for a rise in EPSS or a public exploit.
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/cli@v29.1.5+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.
- CVSS 4.0
- 7.0 HIGHCVSS: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/M
- EPSS
- 0.47% probability · 39th percentile
- CISA KEV
- Not listed
- Weakness
- CWE-427
- Affected
- docker/command line interface
- Source
- security@docker.com
References
- https://docs.docker.com/desktop/release-notes/Release Notes
- https://github.com/docker/cli/pull/6713Issue Tracking, Patch
- https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-CAN-28304/Not Applicable
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-15558
- https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2444574
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2025/cve-2025-15558.json
Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.