CVE-2020-11492Public exploit

SYSTEM privilege escalation via named-pipe impersonation

Published Jun 5, 2020 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Local privilege escalation in Docker Desktop 2.2.0.5 and earlier on Windows allows local users to execute commands with SYSTEM privileges. Docker Desktop Service connects as SYSTEM to the predictable \.\pipe\dockerLifecycleServer name without lowering the client's named-pipe impersonation level. Exploitation requires code execution in a local account with SeImpersonatePrivilege before Docker Desktop starts; successful impersonation grants full SYSTEM command execution.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.94%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in Docker Desktop 2.2.0.5 and earlier on Windows allows local users to execute commands with SYSTEM privileges. Docker Desktop Service connects as SYSTEM to the predictable \.\pipe\dockerLifecycleServer name without lowering the client's named-pipe impersonation level. Exploitation requires code execution in a local account with SeImpersonatePrivilege before Docker Desktop starts; successful impersonation grants full SYSTEM command execution.

The record

CVE
CVE-2020-11492
Published
Jun 5, 2020
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-362, T1134.001
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 5, 2020CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.2NIST NVDAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
7.8NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-362Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')
T1134.001Token Impersonation/Theft

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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