CVE-2025-62725 is a path traversal vulnerability classified under CWE-22 that affects Docker Compose versions earlier than 2.40.2. Docker Compose processes remote OCI compose artifacts that may include annotations such as com.docker.compose.extends or com.docker.compose.envfile. When these annotations are present, Docker Compose concatenates attacker-controlled path values from com.docker.compose.file or com.docker.compose.envfile with its local cache directory path and writes files accordingly. Due to insufficient validation and improper limitation of these pathname inputs, an attacker can craft malicious OCI compose artifacts that cause Docker Compose to write files outside the intended cache directory. This allows overwriting arbitrary files on the host system, potentially leading to code execution, privilege escalation, or system compromise. Notably, exploitation can occur even when users run read-only commands like docker compose config or docker compose ps, increasing the attack surface. The vulnerability affects all platforms and workflows that resolve remote OCI compose artifacts, including Docker Desktop, standalone Compose binaries on Linux, CI/CD pipelines, and cloud development environments. The CVSS 4.0 score is 8.9 (high), reflecting network attack vector, low attack complexity, no privileges required, but requiring user interaction, and high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. No known exploits have been reported yet, but the vulnerability is critical enough to warrant immediate remediation by upgrading to Docker Compose 2.40.2 or later.

For European organizations, this vulnerability poses a significant risk to the security of containerized development and deployment environments. Since Docker Compose is widely used for defining and running multi-container Docker applications, exploitation could allow attackers to overwrite critical system or application files, leading to unauthorized code execution or disruption of services. This could compromise sensitive data confidentiality, integrity of application deployments, and availability of critical services. Organizations relying on CI/CD pipelines or cloud-based development environments that utilize Docker Compose are particularly vulnerable, as attackers could leverage this flaw to inject malicious configurations or backdoors. The ability to exploit this vulnerability without authentication and even during read-only operations increases the risk of insider threats or supply chain attacks via malicious OCI artifacts. This could lead to widespread operational disruptions, data breaches, and compliance violations under European data protection regulations such as GDPR.

European organizations should immediately upgrade all Docker Compose installations to version 2.40.2 or later, where this vulnerability is fixed. Additionally, organizations should implement strict validation and integrity checks on all OCI compose artifacts before use, including verifying signatures and provenance to prevent malicious inputs. Restrict network access to trusted artifact registries and limit the ability to pull remote OCI artifacts to authorized users and systems. Employ runtime monitoring and file integrity monitoring on systems running Docker Compose to detect unauthorized file modifications. In CI/CD environments, enforce artifact scanning and sandbox testing to detect malicious path traversal attempts. Educate developers and DevOps teams about the risks of using untrusted compose artifacts and the importance of applying security patches promptly. Finally, consider isolating Docker Compose execution environments with least privilege principles and container runtime security controls to limit the impact of potential exploitation.