Trivy: Helm chart tar bomb causes OOM via unbounded io.ReadAll in parser
Priority MEDIUM 64CWE-770Published · Updated
Key facts
- Attack vector
- Network
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Active
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Attack requirements
- None
- Impact type
- Denial of service
- Confidentiality · integrity · availability
- None · None · High
- Fix status
- Fixed
Attack profile from CVSS 4.0 · CNA. Fix status from CNA and GitHub. Impact type from CWE-770.
Summary
Trivy is a security scanner. Prior to 0.71.0, when Trivy scans a Helm chart archive (.tgz), its custom tar unpacker reads each entry with io.ReadAll(tr) and no size limit. An attacker who can place a malicious .tgz file in the scanned path can craft a small compressed archive that decompresses to gigabytes, causing the Trivy process to be killed by the OS OOM killer. This vulnerability is fixed in 0.71.0.
Why it matters now
Exploitation Proof of concept CISA SSVC · not in CISA KEV
EPSS 0.00443 38th percentileScored 2026-11-07
Fix Fixed trivy (aquasecurity): 0.71.0github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go): 0.71.0
SSVC decision points
CISA ADP · SSVC 2.0.3
- Exploitation
- Poc
- Automatable
- No
- Technical impact
- Partial
The decision (Track, Attend, Act) also depends on your mission and well-being impact; see CISA's SSVC guide.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aquasecurity | trivy | before 0.71.0 | 0.71.0 | Patch available | CNA |
| — | github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go) | before 0.71.0 | 0.71.0 | Patch available | GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4 |
- trivy VendorAquasecurity Affected before 0.71.0 Fixed in 0.71.0 Patch available CNA
- github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go) Vendor— Affected before 0.71.0 Fixed in 0.71.0 Patch available GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4
CPE configurations NVD · 1
| CPE | Versions | Role | Vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:aquasec:trivy:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* | before 0.71.0 | Vulnerable | Aquasecurity |
- cpe:2.3:a:aquasec:trivy:*:*:*:*:*:go:*:* Versions before 0.71.0 Vulnerable ·Aquasecurity
Remediation
- Fix · CNA trivy (aquasecurity) Fixed in 0.71.0
- Fix · GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4 github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go) Fixed in 0.71.0 Advisory →
Timeline
- 2026-10-02 Threatist record created from CVE-2026-54448
- 2026-10-03 Alias added: GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4
References
Advisory 3
More Aquasecurity Trivy vulnerabilities
- TI-2026-26015 Trivy ecosystem supply chain briefly compromised KEVCVSS 4.0CRITICAL 9.4
- TI-2026-39796 Trivy: Path traversal via a crafted vulnerability database or other downloaded artifacts CVSS 4.0HIGH 7.0
Sources
- CVE-2026-54448 · CVE Program
- CVE-2026-54448 · NVD
- FIRST EPSS
- GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4 · GitHub Advisory Database · CC BY 4.0
This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. Sources and licences