CVE-2026-25145 melange has a path traversal in license-path which allows reading files outside workspace
An attacker influencing melange configuration files can read arbitrary host files via path traversal in license paths, exposing sensitive data in build artifacts.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Local or same network only
- Victim action needed
- A user has to click or open something
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-25145?
CVE-2026-25145 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in chainguard-dev melange, published on 4 Feb 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Official description
melange allows users to build apk packages using declarative pipelines. From version 0.14.0 to before 0.40.3, an attacker who can influence a melange configuration file (e.g., through pull request-driven CI or build-as-a-service scenarios) could read arbitrary files from the host system. The LicensingInfos function in pkg/config/config.go reads license files specified in copyright[].license-path without validating that paths remain within the workspace directory, allowing path traversal via ../ sequences. The contents of the traversed file are embedded into the generated SBOM as license text, enabling exfiltration of sensitive data through build artifacts. This issue has been patched in version 0.40.3.
Weakness: CWE-22
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-25145?
3 open source packages ship an affected version, including chainguard.dev/melange. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
chainguard.dev/melange Go | From 0.14.0 | 0.40.3 |
chainguard.dev/melange Go | From 0.14.0 | 0.40.3 |
chainguard.dev/melange Go | From 0.14.0 | 0.40.3 |
Products include Chainguard Melange.
How do I fix CVE-2026-25145?
Upgrade chainguard.dev/melange to 0.40.3 or later.
Upgrade, and resolve every user-supplied path against an allowed base folder before opening it. More about Path traversal.
Is CVE-2026-25145 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-25145 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in chainguard-dev melange
- CVE-2026-24843 melange QEMU runner could write files outside workspace directory
- CVE-2026-24844 melange pipeline working-directory could allow command injection
- CVE-2026-25143 melange affected by potential host command execution via license-check YAML mode patch pipeline
- CVE-2026-29050 melange has Path Traversal When Resolving External Pipelines via Unvalidated pipeline[].uses
- CVE-2026-29051 melange has Path Traversal via .PKGINFO in --persist-lint-results
Sources
Also known as GHSA-2w4f-9fgg-q2v9, GO-2026-4409.