CVE-2022-38730: docker desktop Link Following

Vulnerability summary

CVE-2022-38730 is a medium (CVSS 6.3) Link Following vulnerability in docker desktop. EPSS estimates a 0.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 20.2% of scored vulnerabilities.

Timeline

1. 27-04-2023
   PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
2. 31-01-2025
   Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.

Description

Docker Desktop for Windows before 4.6 allows attackers to overwrite any file through the windowscontainers/start dockerBackendV2 API by controlling the data-root field inside the DaemonJSON field in the WindowsContainerStartRequest class. This allows exploiting a symlink vulnerability in ..\dataRoot\network\files\local-kv.db because of a TOCTOU race condition.

• CWE-59Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an unintended resource.
• CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race ConditionThe product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.