CVE-2026-24845 malcontent's OCI image scanning could expose registry credentials
A malicious registry can expose Docker credentials by redirecting authentication, affecting users of the malcontent supply-chain scanner.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-24845?
CVE-2026-24845 is a medium-severity vulnerability in chainguard-dev malcontent, published on 29 Jan 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
malcontent discovers supply-chain compromises through. context, differential analysis, and YARA. Starting in version 0.10.0 and prior to version 1.20.3, malcontent could be made to expose Docker registry credentials if it scanned a specially crafted OCI image reference. malcontent uses google/go-containerregistry for OCI image pulls, which by default uses the Docker credential keychain. A malicious registry could return a `WWW-Authenticate` header redirecting token authentication to an attacker-controlled endpoint, causing credentials to be sent to that endpoint. Version 1.20.3 fixes the issue by defaulting to anonymous auth for OCI pulls.
Weakness: CWE-522
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-24845?
4 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent and github.com/chainguard-dev/bincapz. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent Go | All versions | 1.20.3 |
github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent Go | From 0.10.0 | 1.20.3 |
github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent Go | From 0.10.0 | 1.20.3 |
github.com/chainguard-dev/bincapz Go | From 0.10.0 | None |
Products include Chainguard Malcontent.
How do I fix CVE-2026-24845?
Upgrade github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent to 1.20.3 or later.
Is CVE-2026-24845 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-24845 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in chainguard-dev malcontent
Sources
Also known as GHSA-9m43-p3cx-w8j5, GO-2026-4392.