Container-to-host code execution via untrusted model import
Published May 22, 2026 · Updated May 22, 2026
Code execution in Docker Desktop 4.56.0 and later, before 4.71.0, allows local users to execute code on the macOS host. MLX-LM reads model_file from a model config.json and passes the referenced Python file to importlib without a trust gate, executing it outside a sandbox. Docker Model Runner must be enabled with the MLX backend, after which any container on its Docker network can pull a malicious model and execute code as the Docker Desktop user.
Summary
What happened
Code execution in Docker Desktop 4.56.0 and later, before 4.71.0, allows local users to execute code on the macOS host. MLX-LM reads model_file from a model config.json and passes the referenced Python file to importlib without a trust gate, executing it outside a sandbox. Docker Model Runner must be enabled with the MLX backend, after which any container on its Docker network can pull a malicious model and execute code as the Docker Desktop user.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-5843
- Published
- May 22, 2026
- Updated
- May 22, 2026
- Vendor
- Docker
- Product
- Docker Desktop
- Classifications
- CWE-829, CAPEC-480, T1611
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- May 22, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- May 22, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=4.56.0 <4.71.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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