Security Resilience

CVE-2019-15752

LPE in Docker ≤ 2.1.0.1

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCLPE
Published
28 August 2019
Modified
06 November 2025
KEV Added
03 November 2021
CVSS Score v3.1 7.8
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.49 99th percentile
Risk Priority 83 floored blend · peak EPSS

CVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.

Summary

CVE-2019-15752 is a high-severity Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) vulnerability in Docker Docker. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).

Operationally, ranked in the top 1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

Docker Desktop Community Edition before version 2.1.0.1 is affected by a local privilege escalation vulnerability tracked as CVE-2019-15752 and assigned CWE-732. The flaw stems from insecure default permissions on the %PROGRAMDATA%\DockerDesktop\version-bin\ directory, which permits unprivileged users to introduce arbitrary executables that are later invoked by the Docker credential helper mechanism.

A low-privilege local attacker can drop a malicious docker-credential-wincred.exe into the writable directory and then wait for an administrator or service account to trigger Docker authentication, a service restart, or the “docker login” command. When the helper is executed, the attacker’s binary runs with the higher privileges of the invoking user, resulting in full control over the host (CVSS 7.8).

Public references include proof-of-concept exploit code demonstrating the attack and a technical write-up detailing the directory permission issue; the provided description indicates the flaw is resolved by upgrading to Docker Desktop Community Edition 2.1.0.1 or later.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Docker Desktop Community Edition before 2.1.0.1 allows local users to gain privileges by placing a Trojan horse docker-credential-wincred.exe file in %PROGRAMDATA%\DockerDesktop\version-bin\ as a low-privilege user, and then waiting for an admin or service user to authenticate with Docker, restart Docker,…

more

or run 'docker login' to force the command.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
03 November 2021

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2018-13374Shared CWE-732both on KEV
CVE-2022-22960Shared CWE-732both on KEV
CVE-2025-20298Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2020-5741Same product: Microsoft Windowsboth on KEV
CVE-2023-32162Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2023-28346Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2025-4609Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2025-64298Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2025-20386Same product: Microsoft Windows
CVE-2024-24912Same product: Microsoft Windows

Affected Assets

docker
docker
≤ 2.1.0.1
apache
geode
1.12.0

Mitigating Controls

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-732

Procedures support proper permission assignment for critical resources through documented controls.

addresses: CWE-732

Attribute management for resources provides a mechanism to assign and maintain correct permissions based on security labels.

addresses: CWE-732

Prevents overly permissive assignments to critical resources by limiting to task needs.

addresses: CWE-732

Training policy covers correct permission assignment, reducing the ability to exploit incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

addresses: CWE-732

Training on permission management reduces incorrect permission assignments for critical resources.

addresses: CWE-732

Audit logs and logging tools are critical resources whose protection requires correct permission assignments to block unauthorized actions.

addresses: CWE-732

Assessments review permission assignments on critical resources to confirm correctness, mitigating exploitation via incorrect permissions.

addresses: CWE-732

Certification includes checking that permissions on critical resources are correctly assigned.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

blocks

A.5.1 only requires the existence of an overarching policy and topic-specific policies (including on access control); it does not itself enforce, implement, or act on permissions and therefore cannot stop CWE-732 from being exploitable.

blocks

A.5.12 only defines and communicates a classification scheme (with owners accountable for applying it); it does not itself enforce, restrict or decide any permissions, so the CWE-732 permission flaw can still be present and exploitable.

blocks

A.5.15 directly requires determining access needs, defining and communicating an access control policy, implementing rules that map rights/restrictions to entities (including consistency with classification), and considering need-to-know, privileged restrictions, segregation, formal authorization, and dynamic factors — which squarely stops most incorrect permission assignments from being exploitable; the bounded remainder is misconfigurations that violate the policy itself.

blocks

A.5.18 directly governs the provisioning, review, adjustment and revocation of logical access rights (including for critical resources) according to business needs, policy, SoD and risk, which stops most unintended actors from reading/modifying via incorrect permissions; the bounded remainder is incorrect permission assignments that are not access-right decisions at all (e.g. filesystem umask, ACL syntax errors).

blocks

Documented responsibility for protecting assets encourages correct permission settings rather than leaving them at insecure defaults.

finds

Monitoring supplier policy changes and conducting audits can reveal incorrect permission assignments on resources managed by the supplier, prompting corrective action before they are exploited.

Hardening callouts derived

DISA STIG baselines are authored against specific weaknesses. Where this CVE cites a broad weakness class, the mapping is not asserted at that abstraction (owner ruling, 2026-09-25: grade only at Base and below), so no rule is shown here rather than a rule shown against the wrong grain.

  • No fine-grained STIG row for CWE-732, a class-level weakness. Rules are authored against its narrower children: CWE-276, CWE-277, CWE-281.

References