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DesktopApplication · Docker

CVE-2021-37841

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2021-08-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 3.6.0 or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Docker Desktop before 3.6.0 suffers from incorrect access control. If a low-privileged account is able to access the server running the Windows containers, it can lead to a full container compromise in both process isolation and Hyper-V isolation modes. This security issue leads an attacker with low privilege to read, write and possibly even execute code inside the containers.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Docker Desktop before version 3.6.0 contains an incorrect access control vulnerability in its Windows container runtime. A low-privileged user who gains access to the Windows container host can bypass isolation boundaries in both process isolation and Hyper-V isolation modes, allowing unauthorized read, write, and potentially code execution access within containers.

MitigationUpgrade Docker Desktop to version 3.6.0 or later to remediate the access control vulnerability. Verify container workloads function correctly in both isolation modes after upgrading.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
DesktopApplication
Affected:< 3.6.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Check installed Docker Desktop version
    Run 'docker --version' or open Docker Desktop and navigate to About Docker Desktop to view the version number
    Affected if Version is below 3.6.0 (for example, 3.5.2, 3.4.0, etc.)
  2. Confirm Windows containers feature is enabled
    Run 'docker info' and look for the 'OSType' field - if it shows 'windows', Windows containers are active. Also check 'docker system info' for Windows-specific runtime details
    Affected if Docker is configured to run Windows containers (not Linux containers)
  3. Identify container isolation mode
    Run 'docker inspect <container_id>' on a running Windows container and check the 'HostConfig.Isolation' field - values can be 'process' or 'hyperv'
    Affected if Isolation mode is set to 'process' or 'hyperv' (both modes are vulnerable in affected versions)
  4. Verify user access context
    Determine if the account you use has low-privileged access to the Windows host system. Check current user privileges using 'whoami /priv' or examine if the host is accessible to users outside the administrator group
    Affected if A low-privileged user account can access the Windows container host where Docker Desktop is running

You are affected if Docker Desktop version is below 3.6.0 AND you run Windows containers in either process or Hyper-V isolation mode, and a low-privileged user could potentially access the host system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 3.6.0 or later
Fixed in 3.6.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Docker Desktop to version 3.6.0 or later to remediate the access control vulnerability. Verify container workloads function correctly in both isolation modes after upgrading.

Recommended fix High confidence

Docker Desktop 3.6.0 or later

  1. Back up any important Docker volumes or data if needed
  2. Upgrade Docker Desktop to version 3.6.0 or later
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by checking the Docker Desktop version (Help > About Docker Desktop)

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Desktop Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,540
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,464.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2021-37841 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data