CVE-2026-126329 PUBLISHED

Docker Sandboxes privilege escalation through untrusted state directories

Assigner: Docker
Reserved: 10.11.2026 Published: 12.11.2026 Updated: 12.11.2026

Docker Sandboxes reuses existing state and configuration directories without verifying their ownership. If sbx or sandboxd is run as root with HOME or, on Linux, XDG_STATE_HOME pointing to an attacker-controlled location, a local unprivileged user can substitute control-plane sockets and configuration trusted by the root process, potentially executing commands as root. Exploitation requires a privileged invocation with an attacker-influenced environment. The issue affects Linux and macOS and is fixed in version 0.53.0.

Metrics

CVSS Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CVSS Score: 7.3

A local unprivileged attacker controls a state or configuration directory reused by a root invocation with an attacker-influenced HOME or XDG_STATE_HOME.

Product Status

Vendor Docker
Product Docker Sandboxes
Versions Default: unknown
  • affected from 0.7.0 to 0.53.0 (excl.)
  • unaffected from 0.53.0 to * (excl.)

Workarounds

Avoid running sbx or sandboxd as root. If a privileged invocation is required, use HOME and XDG_STATE_HOME values belonging to the target account and ensure its state and configuration directories are not controlled by another user.

Solutions

Upgrade Docker Sandboxes to version 0.53.0 or later.

Credits

  • Ryan Selikow finder

References

Problem Types

  • CWE-282: Improper Ownership Management CWE