Rule Information
Tags
docker-composecomposecapabilitiescap-addsecurityprivilege-escalationcontainer-escapelinuxkernel
CWE References
Interactive Playground
Experiment with the vulnerable code and security rule below. Edit the code to see how the rule detects different vulnerability patterns.
pathfinder scan --ruleset docker-compose/COMPOSE-SEC-008 --project .1
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rule.py
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About This Rule
Understanding the vulnerability and how it is detected
This rule detects services that add dangerous Linux capabilities via `cap_add`. Linux capabilities divide root privileges into distinct units. Some capabilities are extremely powerful and can be used for container escape or privilege escalation. This rule flags the most dangerous ones.
How to Fix
Recommended remediation steps
- 1Review your Dockerfile to address the dangerous capability added issue
- 2Follow Docker official best practices for image building
- 3Use docker build --check to validate Dockerfile syntax and best practices
References
External resources and documentation
Similar Rules
Explore related security rules for Docker Compose
LOW
Container Filesystem is Writable
Service has writable root filesystem. Consider making it read-only for better security.
MEDIUM
Using Host IPC Mode
Service uses host IPC namespace. Container shares inter-process communication with host.
MEDIUM
Missing no-new-privileges Security Option
Service does not have no-new-privileges security option. Without this, processes inside the container can gain additional privileges via setuid binaries or capability escalation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Dangerous Capability Added
Service adds dangerous capability. These capabilities can be used for container escape or privilege escalation.
Review the secure code example in the playground above and apply the recommended pattern to your Dockerfile or docker-compose.yml.
New feature
Get these findings posted directly on your GitHub pull requests
The Dangerous Capability Added rule runs in CI and posts inline review comments on the exact lines — no dashboard, no SARIF viewer.