Medium 5.5Published Jan 29, 2026

CVE-2026-24846malcontent's archive extraction could write outside extraction directory

Updated under an hour ago (Oct 26, 2026, 3:50 PM ET)

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Every CVE for chainguard-dev malcontent

Exploited in the last 30 days

malcontent discovers supply-chain compromises through. context, differential analysis, and YARA. Starting in version 1.8.0 and prior to version 1.20.3, malcontent could be made to create symlinks outside the intended extraction directory when scanning a specially crafted tar or deb archive. The `handleSymlink` function received arguments in the wrong order, causing the symlink target to be used as the symlink location. Additionally, symlink targets were not validated to ensure they resolved within the extraction directory. Version 1.20.3 introduces fixes that swap handleSymlink arguments, validate symlink location, and validate symlink targets that resolve within an extraction directory.

CVSS: 5.5 MEDIUM (v3.1, CNA)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness (CWE): CWE-22, CWE-683
Known exploited: Not in CISA's KEV catalog
EPSS (exploitation in the next 30 days): Not loaded for this CVE
Assigned by: GitHub_M
NVD analysis: Analyzed
Record last updated: Jan 29, 2026
First seen by InfoSec Signals: Oct 9, 2026

Affected products

Affected products

chainguard-dev malcontent chainguard_dev:malcontent (from the name)	from 1.8.0, < 1.20.3	CNA record
chainguard malcontent chainguard:malcontent	from 1.8.0 before 1.20.3	NVD

References

References

https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/security/advisories/GHSA-923j-vrcg-hxwh	x-refsource-confirm, vendor-advisory
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/commit/259fca5abc004f3ab238895463ef280a87f30e96	x-refsource-misc, patch
https://github.com/chainguard-dev/malcontent/commit/a7dd8a5328ddbaf235568437813efa7591e00017	x-refsource-misc, patch

The CVE record on cve.org NVD's entry

The CVE record is authoritative. Products marked “from the name” were identified from the CNA's free-text names, not a CPE, and are matched less certainly. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.