CVE-2026-5817 Docker Model Runner container-to-host code execution via unsandboxed trust_remote_code in Python inference backends
Attackers can execute arbitrary code on the Docker host by triggering inference with a malicious model due to unsandboxed trust_remote_code settings.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Any signed-in user
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-5817?
CVE-2026-5817 is a high-severity code injection vulnerability in Docker Desktop, published on 22 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Official description
The vllm-metal inference backend in Docker Model Runner on macOS unconditionally sets trust_remote_code=True when loading model tokenizers, and runs without sandboxing. This causes transformers.AutoTokenizer.from_pretrained() to import and execute arbitrary Python files included in any model pulled from an OCI registry, resulting in arbitrary code execution on the Docker host as the Docker Desktop user when inference is triggered.
Any container on the Docker network can trigger this by calling the model-runner.docker.internal API to pull a malicious model and request inference.
Weakness: CWE-829
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-5817?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Docker Docker Desktop.
How do I fix CVE-2026-5817?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-5817 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Upgrade, and never evaluate templates, expressions or code built from user input. More about Code injection.
Is CVE-2026-5817 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-5817 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Public exploit code: 2 proofs of concept on GitHub.
Other vulnerabilities in Docker Desktop
- CVE-2026-5843 Docker Model Runner container-to-host code execution via MLX-LM model_file importlib loading
- CVE-2026-6406 Docker Desktop Enhanced Container Isolation bypass via --use-api-socket CLI flag
- CVE-2021-44719 Missing authorization in n/a
- CVE-2023-0625 Docker Desktop before 4.12.0 is vulnerable to RCE via a crafted extension description or changelog
- CVE-2023-0626 Docker Desktop before 4.12.0 is vulnerable to RCE via query parameters in message-box route
Sources
Also known as GHSA-cgqp-ww2v-6rjh.