CVE-2026-31961: Github.com/anchore/quill Quill Has Unbounded Memory Allocation Vulnerability
MODERATECVE-2026-31961 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.5) quill has unbounded memory allocation vulnerability (CWE-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling) affecting Github.com/anchore/quill libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves quill has unbounded memory allocation via unvalidated size fields in mach-o binary parsing. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.7.1.
CVE-2026-31961 at a Glance
Security Impact
CVSS: 5.5
The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H).
How to Fix CVE-2026-31961
To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Github.com/anchore/quill dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.
Upgrade github.com/anchore/quill to 0.7.1Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:
inspect dependencies for github.com/anchore/quillHow to Check if You Are Affected
To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-31961, inspect your project dependencies for Github.com/anchore/quill:
inspect dependencies for github.com/anchore/quillAnalyze the terminal output to locate any version of Github.com/anchore/quill in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.7.1), 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-770: Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling, where the product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any intended restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be allocated. In Github.com/anchore/quill, 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
CVE-2026-31961 Affected Github.com/anchore/quill Versions
1 component(s)| Product / Package | Ecosystem | Affected Versions | Fixed Version |
|---|---|---|---|
|
github.com/anchore/quill
|
Go |
< 0.7.1
|
0.7.1
|
References
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CVE-2026-31961?
Which Github.com/anchore/quill versions are affected?
What version fixes CVE-2026-31961?
Is github.com/anchore/quill affected?
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-31961?
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-31961?
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2026-31961?
Machine-readable OSV JSON
OSV v1.5 Schema
{
"schema_version" : "1.4.0",
"id" : "GHSA-xj69-m9qq-8m94",
"modified" : "2026-03-11T21:37:54Z",
"published" : "2026-03-11T00:38:00Z",
"aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-31961" ],
"summary" : "Quill has unbounded memory allocation via unvalidated size fields in Mach-O binary parsing",
"details" : "### Impact\n\nQuill before version `v0.7.1` contains an unbounded memory allocation vulnerability when parsing Mach-O binaries. Exploitation requires that Quill processes an attacker-supplied Mach-O binary, which is most likely in environments such as CI/CD pipelines, shared signing services, or any workflow where externally-submitted binaries are accepted for signing.\n\nWhen parsing a Mach-O binary, Quill reads several size and count fields from the `LC_CODE_SIGNATURE` load command and embedded code signing structures (`SuperBlob`, `BlobIndex`) and uses them to allocate memory buffers without validating that the values are reasonable or consistent with the actual file size. Affected fields include `DataSize`, `DataOffset`, and `Size` from the load command, `Count` from the `SuperBlob` header, and `Length` from individual blob headers. An attacker can craft a minimal (~4KB) malicious Mach-O binary with extremely large values in these fields, causing Quill to attempt to allocate excessive memory. This leads to memory exhaustion and denial of service, potentially crashing the host process. Both the Quill CLI and Go library are affected when used to parse untrusted Mach-O files.\n\n\n### Patches\n\nFixed in Quill `v0.7.1`\n\n\n### Workarounds\n\nNone\n\n### Credit\n\nAnchore would like to thank opera-aklajn (Opera) for reporting this vulnerability\n\n### Resources\n\n- [Inside code signing: hashes (Apple documentation)](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3126-inside-code-signing-hashes)",
"severity" : [ {
"type" : "CVSS_V3",
"score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H"
} ],
"affected" : [ {
"package" : {
"ecosystem" : "Go",
"name" : "github.com/anchore/quill"
},
"ranges" : [ {
"type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
"events" : [ {
"introduced" : "0"
}, {
"fixed" : "0.7.1"
} ]
} ]
} ],
"references" : [ {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/anchore/quill/security/advisories/GHSA-xj69-m9qq-8m94"
}, {
"type" : "ADVISORY",
"url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-31961"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/anchore/quill/commit/80cf3fe082678af0ec4f9f8dd93f39189d2dc1fe"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://developer.apple.com/documentation/technotes/tn3126-inside-code-signing-hashes"
}, {
"type" : "PACKAGE",
"url" : "https://github.com/anchore/quill"
}, {
"type" : "WEB",
"url" : "https://github.com/anchore/quill/releases/tag/v0.7.1"
} ],
"database_specific" : {
"cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-770" ],
"severity" : "MODERATE",
"github_reviewed" : true,
"github_reviewed_at" : "2026-03-11T00:38:00Z",
"nvd_published_at" : "2026-03-11T20:16:17Z"
}
}