Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A flaw in Moby’s plugin installation checks can let a plugin receive privileges different from those a user approved. Successful abuse could compromise container hosts and affect data confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Systems running Moby before 29.3.1 are affected.
Executive priority
Prioritize remediation on production container hosts where administrators can install plugins, especially systems handling sensitive data or critical services. The potential impact is high, but the supplied evidence does not show active exploitation. Treat this as an accelerated patching issue rather than an emergency incident absent local indicators.
Technical view
During docker plugin installation, the daemon incorrectly compares requested and approved privilege sets. A mismatched set may be accepted, and plugins requesting exactly one privilege receive no comparison. The CVSS 3.1 score is 8.4; the vector indicates network reachability, low complexity, high privileges, user interaction, and potential scope change.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely where Moby versions earlier than 29.3.1 permit plugin installation. Risk is higher when privileged users install untrusted or insufficiently reviewed plugins. The supplied evidence does not establish whether particular downstream distributions or configurations are vulnerable; verify them through their vendor advisories.
Exploitation context
The supplied bundle does not report active exploitation, and CVE-2026-33997 is not listed as KEV. Exploitation requires high existing privileges and user interaction according to the supplied CVSS vector, but successful bypass could grant unintended plugin privileges with high host-level impact.
Researcher notes
CWE-193 and CWE-266 characterize the boundary error and incorrect privilege assignment. Investigation should focus on the daemon’s approved-versus-requested privilege comparison, including the single-privilege edge case. The source bundle establishes the vulnerable range and fixed release but provides no evidence of public exploitation or exploit availability.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade Moby to version 29.3.1 or later.
- Apply applicable downstream vendor updates, including relevant Red Hat errata, after confirming product applicability.
- Until patched, restrict plugin installation to authorized administrators and trusted plugins.
- Review vendor guidance for any distribution-specific remediation or service restart requirements.
Validation and detection
- Inventory Moby installations and identify versions earlier than 29.3.1.
- Confirm upgraded hosts report Moby 29.3.1 or later.
- Review plugin installation records for unexpected or insufficiently reviewed privilege requests.
- Verify relevant downstream vendor advisories and errata have been applied.
- Reassess installed plugins and confirm their effective privileges match documented approvals.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-193: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-266: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupContainer behavior lookup
The affected technology mentions containers, so container-specific ATT&CK technique review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2026-33997 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.4 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
2 official scoresWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.76redhat-SADPCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N1.65.2GitHub_MVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.4HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Base CVSS 3.1 score
6.8MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Made public.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- ADP timelineredhat-SADP
Reported to Red Hat.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
- 2026-03-31T03:01:29.529Z: Reported to Red Hat.
- 2026-03-31T01:36:51.404Z: Made public.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://github.com/moby/moby/security/advisories/GHSA-pxq6-2prw-chj9CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/moby/moby/releases/tag/docker-v29.3.1CVE reference, GitHub_M · x_refsource_MISC
- https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-33997CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vdb-entry, x_refsource_REDHAT
- RHBZ#2453277CVE reference, redhat-SADP · issue-tracking, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-33997.jsonCVE reference, redhat-SADP · x_sadp-csaf-vex
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:22347CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:23345CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
- https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:21769CVE reference, redhat-SADP · vendor-advisory, x_refsource_REDHAT
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Off-by-one Error
Off-by-one Error represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Incorrect Privilege Assignment
Incorrect Privilege Assignment represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.