# CVE-2018-15514: Deserialization in n/a

> A malicious user in the docker-users group can escalate to administrator privileges via unsafe deserialization in Docker for Windows.

- **Severity:** High 8.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 1 Sep 2018
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-332v-39cw-qwg2

## What is CVE-2018-15514?

CVE-2018-15514 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Sep 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

HandleRequestAsync in Docker for Windows before 18.06.0-ce-rc3-win68 (edge) and before 18.06.0-ce-win72 (stable) deserialized requests over the \\.\pipe\dockerBackend named pipe without verifying the validity of the deserialized .NET objects. This would allow a malicious user in the "docker-users" group (who may not otherwise have administrator access) to escalate to administrator privileges.

Weakness: CWE-502 (Deserialization of Untrusted Data)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-15514?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Docker Docker.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-15514?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-15514 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-15514 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15514 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2014-9357](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9357/): Arbitrary Code Execution (critical 10.0)
- [CVE-2020-14298](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14298/): Privilege escalation in Docker (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2020-14300](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-14300/): Privilege escalation in Docker (high 8.8)
- [CVE-2014-9356](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9356/): Path Traversal in Docker (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2019-13139](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-13139/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.4)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-15514 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-15514 is a high-severity unsafe deserialization vulnerability in n/a, published on 1 Sep 2018. Any signed-in user can exploit it over the network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-15514 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15514/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15514/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-15514
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-15514
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-15514

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-15514/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.