GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593: malcontent Error-path Cleanup Gap Can Leak Vulnerability

MODERATE
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CVSS 5.3
CWE-400
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) error-path cleanup gap can leak vulnerability (CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption) affecting malcontent libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves error-path cleanup gap can leak scanners and fds and degrade availability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.21.0.

GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Affected Product malcontent
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity None (I:N)
Availability Low (A:L)

How to Fix GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected malcontent dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent fixed: 1.21.0 
Upgrade github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent to 1.21.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

inspect dependencies for github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593, inspect your project dependencies for malcontent:

inspect dependencies for github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of malcontent in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.21.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption, where the product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource. In malcontent, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

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](https://1seal.org/) for discovering and reporting all six of these issues.

GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 Affected malcontent Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.21.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent
golang/github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent
Go
< 1.21.0
1.21.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/security/advisories/GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593
malcontent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1354
malcontent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1355
malcontent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1356
malcontent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1361
malcontent Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593?
GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 is a security vulnerability in malcontent involving Error-path cleanup gap can leak scanners and fds and degrade availability under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption.
Which malcontent versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.21.0 across affected packages: github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent.
What version fixes GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593?
Upgrading to 1.21.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent affected?
Yes, github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent is affected in releases prior to 1.21.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.21.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593?
GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593?
GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593 is classified under CWE-400: Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.).
How can I check Go dependencies for GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593",
  "modified" : "2026-03-02T18:48:03Z",
  "published" : "2026-03-02T18:48:03Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "malcontent: Error-path cleanup gap can leak scanners and fds and degrade availability",
  "details" : "Several extraction and scanning code paths registered late defers which could leak resources and exhaust system resources.\n\nThis report is an aggregate of these individual reports for the affected code:\nAdvisory | Affected File\n-- | --\n`GHSA-jjgh-mc5q-gch7` | `pkg/action/scan.go`\n`GHSA-mwmf-fxh2-w4x7` | `pkg/archive/deb.go`\n`GHSA-p8j3-rpf5-gwv3` | `pkg/archive/gzip.go`\n`GHSA-qfh4-7f5v-75gq` | `pkg/archive/zlib.go`\n`GHSA-wxxf-r586-5rf5` | `pkg/archive/bzip2.go`\n\n**Fix**: #1354, #1355, #1356, #1361\n\n**Acknowledgements**\n\nThank you to Oleh Konko from [1seal](https://1seal.org/) for discovering and reporting all six of these issues.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.21.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/security/advisories/GHSA-54p8-x2m9-c593"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1354"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1355"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1356"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/pull/1361"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-400" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-02T18:48:03Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}