What is CVE-2021-3162?

CVE-2021-3162 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Improper Certificate Validation. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-01-15.

How severe is CVE-2021-3162?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Apple macOS

CVE-2021-3162

Docker Desktop Community before 2.5.0.0 on macOS mishandles certificate checking, leading to local privilege escalation.

Vulnerability class: Improper Certificate Validation

Published 2021-01-15 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.002 (6.1th percentile), scored 2026-09-29.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 6th percentile — 6.1% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-295 — Improper Certificate Validation

References

docs.docker.com/docker-for-mac/release-notes/ (Vendor Advisory)
twitter.com/_r3ggi (Third Party Advisory)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2021-3162?: CVE-2021-3162 is a high-severity vulnerability in Apple macOS, classified under Improper Certificate Validation. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2021-01-15.
How severe is CVE-2021-3162?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.