CVE-2023-5165 | Docker Desktop before 4.23.0 allows Enhanced Container Isolation bypass via debug shell

Docker Desktop before 4.23.0 allows an unprivileged user to bypass Enhanced Container Isolation (ECI) restrictions via the debug shell which remains accessible for a short time window after launching Docker Desktop. The affected functionality is available for Docker Business customers only and assumes an environment where users are not granted local root or Administrator privileges. This issue has been fixed in Docker Desktop 4.23.0. Affected Docker Desktop versions: from 4.13.0 before 4.23.0.

Published: 2023-09-25 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-5165 is rated Low Risk (32.2/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.05%). Mandatory action: Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-5165

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2025-03-30 0.07% 0.05% -0.02%
2 2025-03-29 0.04% 0.07% +0.02%
3 2023-09-26 0.04%

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-5165

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.1 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:N)
Service keeps running; no real outage angle.
1.8 5.2 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:C)
Breaking this can reach past the original component and bite other resources—bigger blast radius.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.0 6.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-5165

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-5165

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
docker docker_desktop >= 4.13.0, < 4.23.0 cpe:2.3:a:docker:docker_desktop:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-5165

URL Tags
https://docs.docker.com/desktop/release-notes/#4230 Release Notes Vendor Advisory
cvelogic Threat Intelligence