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GHSA-rc4r-wh2q-q6c4

GitHub Security Advisory

Docker supplementary group permissions not set up properly, allowing attackers to bypass primary group restrictions

✓ GitHub Reviewed MODERATE Has CVE

Advisory Details

Moby is an open-source project created by Docker to enable software containerization. A bug was found in Moby (Docker Engine) where supplementary groups are not set up properly. If an attacker has direct access to a container and manipulates their supplementary group access, they may be able to use supplementary group access to bypass primary group restrictions in some cases, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or gaining the ability to execute code in that container. This bug is fixed in Moby (Docker Engine) 20.10.18. Users should update to this version when it is available. Running containers should be stopped and restarted for the permissions to be fixed. For users unable to upgrade, this problem can be worked around by not using the `"USER $USERNAME"` Dockerfile instruction. Instead by calling `ENTRYPOINT ["su", "-", "user"]` the supplementary groups will be set up properly.

Thanks to Steven Murdoch for reporting this issue.

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### Impact

If an attacker has direct access to a container and manipulates their supplementary group access, they may be able to use supplementary group access to bypass primary group restrictions in some cases, potentially gaining access to sensitive information or gaining the ability to execute code in that container.

### Patches

This bug is fixed in Moby (Docker Engine) 20.10.18. Users should update to this version when it is available.

### Workarounds

This problem can be worked around by not using the `"USER $USERNAME"` Dockerfile instruction. Instead by calling `ENTRYPOINT ["su", "-", "user"]` the supplementary groups will be set up properly.

### References

https://www.benthamsgaze.org/2022/08/22/vulnerability-in-linux-containers-investigation-and-mitigation/

### For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

* [Open an issue](https://github.com/moby/moby/issues/new)
* Email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])

Affected Packages

Go github.com/docker/docker
Affected versions: 0 (fixed in 20.10.18)

Related CVEs

Key Information

GHSA ID
GHSA-rc4r-wh2q-q6c4
Published
September 16, 2022 9:00 PM
Last Modified
January 17, 2025 3:55 PM
CVSS Score
5.0 /10
Primary Ecosystem
Go
Primary Package
github.com/docker/docker
GitHub Reviewed
✓ Yes

Dataset

Last updated: July 12, 2025 6:29 AM

Data from GitHub Advisory Database. This information is provided for research and educational purposes.