GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) 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: Error-path cleanup gap can leak scanners and fds and degrade availability
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
Several extraction and scanning code paths registered late defers which could leak resources and exhaust system resources.
This report is an aggregate of these individual reports for the affected code:
| Advisory | Affected File |
|---|---|
GHSA-jjgh-mc5q-gch7 | pkg/action/scan.go |
GHSA-mwmf-fxh2-w4x7 | pkg/archive/deb.go |
GHSA-p8j3-rpf5-gwv3 | pkg/archive/gzip.go |
GHSA-qfh4-7f5v-75gq | pkg/archive/zlib.go |
GHSA-wxxf-r586-5rf5 | pkg/archive/bzip2.go |
Fix: #1354, #1355, #1356, #1361
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Oleh Konko from 1seal for discovering and reporting all six of these issues.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent | all versions | 1.21.0go get github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent@v1.21.0 |
Detection & 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 1.21.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.