Vulnerability in Docker Command Line Interface

CVE-2025-15558

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.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 8.0 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.005 (38.3th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 38th percentile — 38.3% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-15558: held from 0.005 to 0.005.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.005 · newest: 0.005 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-15558?
CVE-2025-15558 is a high-severity vulnerability in Docker Command Line Interface, classified under Uncontrolled Search Path Element. CVSS score: 8.0/10. Published 2026-03-04.
How severe is CVE-2025-15558?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 8.0 out of 10.