CVE-2026-24846 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.5) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent. A fix is available for github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent — see the affected versions and patch details below.
malcontent's archive extraction could write outside extraction directory
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-24846.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontentReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
malcontent discovers supply-chain compromises through. context, differential analysis, and YARA. Starting in version 1.8.0 and prior to version 1.20.3, malcontent could be made to create symlinks outside the intended extraction directory when scanning a specially crafted tar or deb archive. The handleSymlink function received arguments in the wrong order, causing the symlink target to be used as the symlink location. Additionally, symlink targets were not validated to ensure they resolved within the extraction directory. Version 1.20.3 introduces fixes that swap handleSymlink arguments, validate symlink location, and validate symlink targets that resolve within an extraction directory.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent | ≥ 1.8.0&&< 1.20.3 | 1.20.3go get github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent@v1.20.3 |
Affected Products
malcontentchainguardDetection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent to 1.20.3 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-24846 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-24846 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.