CVE-2025-15558 HIGH

CVE-2025-15558: Docker Desktop Docker Plugins Uncontrolled Search Path Element Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Weakness CWE-427
Published March 4, 2026
Last update June 30, 2026

CVSS base score

7.0/10
Attack vector Local
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required Low
User interaction
Confidentiality
Integrity

CVSS vector

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

What the vulnerability does

01Description

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.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

March 4, 2026 CVE published
June 30, 2026 Record updated