CVE-2025-4095 in Docker
Summary
by MITRE • 04/29/2025
Registry Access Management (RAM) is a security feature allowing administrators to restrict access for their developers to only allowed registries. When a MacOS configuration profile is used to enforce organization sign-in, the RAM policies are not being applied, which would allow Docker Desktop users to pull down unapproved, and potentially malicious images from any registry.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/29/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-4095 resides within the Registry Access Management (RAM) functionality of Docker Desktop on macOS platforms. This security feature is designed to provide administrators with granular control over which registries their development teams can access, thereby preventing unauthorized downloads of potentially malicious container images. The flaw manifests when organization sign-in is enforced through macOS configuration profiles, creating a critical gap in the security posture where RAM policies fail to take effect. This represents a fundamental breakdown in the principle of least privilege that organizations rely upon to maintain secure development environments.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from the improper handling of policy enforcement when macOS configuration profiles are applied. When administrators configure organization sign-in requirements through these profiles, the underlying RAM system fails to recognize or enforce the configured access restrictions. This creates a scenario where Docker Desktop users can bypass the intended registry access controls and pull images from any registry, regardless of organizational security policies. The flaw operates at the intersection of macOS profile management and Docker Desktop security controls, where the policy inheritance mechanism breaks down during the sign-in process. This vulnerability directly maps to CWE-284 Access Control Bypass, as it allows unauthorized access to resources that should be restricted based on policy configuration. The attack surface is particularly concerning given that Docker Desktop users may not be security-aware, potentially leading to inadvertent exposure to malicious container images from untrusted sources.
The operational impact of CVE-2025-4095 is severe and multifaceted across enterprise security environments. Organizations that rely on Docker Desktop for containerized development workloads face significant risk of supply chain compromise when this vulnerability is exploited. Attackers can leverage this flaw to pull malicious images from public registries, potentially bypassing security scanning tools and network-level controls that would normally prevent such downloads. The vulnerability undermines the security controls that organizations invest heavily in implementing, as it allows lateral movement and persistence opportunities through container image manipulation. This weakness particularly affects organizations with strict regulatory compliance requirements, where unauthorized access to container registries could result in compliance violations and security breaches. The impact extends beyond immediate security concerns to include potential data exfiltration, system compromise, and the introduction of backdoors through malicious container images.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2025-4095 require immediate administrative intervention and architectural considerations. Organizations should implement immediate network-level restrictions to prevent Docker Desktop from accessing unauthorized registries, regardless of the configuration profile settings. The recommended approach involves configuring firewall rules or proxy controls that restrict outbound connections from Docker Desktop to only approved registry endpoints. Administrators should also consider implementing additional verification mechanisms such as image signing and verification policies that operate independently of the RAM controls. The use of Docker Content Trust and Notary can provide additional layers of protection by ensuring that only signed and verified images are pulled into the environment. Organizations should also implement monitoring and alerting for unusual Docker image pull activities, particularly from registries that are not explicitly configured in their RAM policies. This vulnerability highlights the importance of the ATT&CK technique T1566.001 Phishing: Spearphishing Attachment, as malicious actors could exploit this weakness to deliver payloads through compromised container images. The mitigation approach should also include regular security assessments of configuration profile deployments to ensure proper policy enforcement across all Docker Desktop environments.