# CVE-2026-54448: Aqua Security Trivy denial of service via Helm chart tar bomb

Source: https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-54448-aqua-security-trivy-denial-of-service-via-helm-chart-tar-bomb  
Publisher: Junglewise Threat Intelligence, https://junglewise.ai/threats  
Published: 2026-06-25. Updated: 2026-07-14  
License: CC BY 4.0 with a link back

CVE-2026-54448 · Severity: high · CVSS 4 · Published 2026-06-25

Aqua Security Trivy is a security scanner used to find vulnerabilities and misconfigurations in software projects and container images. A flaw in how it handles Helm chart archives allows an attacker to provide a specially crafted file that, when scanned, consumes all available system memory. This results in a denial-of-service condition where the scanner crashes, potentially disrupting automated software delivery pipelines and incurring additional cloud infrastructure costs.

Technologies: [Aqua Security Trivy](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/trivy), [github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go)](https://junglewise.ai/threats/technologies/github-com-aquasecurity-trivy). Vendors: [Aqua Security](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/aqua-security), [Go](https://junglewise.ai/threats/vendors/go).

## Quick answers

**Is CVE-2026-54448 exploited in the wild?** No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-54448 being exploited in the wild.

**How severe is CVE-2026-54448?** High severity, with a CVSS score of 4, published 25 June 2026.

**Which products and versions are affected?** Aqua Security Trivy < 0.71.0; github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go) < 0.71.0, SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=0.71.0.

**Is there a fix for CVE-2026-54448?** Yes. github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go): upgrade to 0.71.0 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.

**How is CVE-2026-54448 attacked?** It is attacked over the network, in a software library.

**Am I affected by CVE-2026-54448?** Check whether you run Aqua Security Trivy or github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

## How to fix

- github.com/aquasecurity/trivy (Go): upgrade to 0.71.0 or later

  ```sh
  go get github.com/aquasecurity/trivy@v0.71.0
  ```


## Technical details

Trivy's custom tar unpacker utilized `io.ReadAll` without size limits when processing Helm chart (`.tgz`) entries. An attacker can exploit this by placing a malicious, highly-compressed archive in a location scanned by Trivy (such as a git repository or container image build context). When Trivy attempts to parse the archive during a configuration or filesystem scan, the unbounded memory allocation causes the operating system's Out-Of-Memory (OOM) killer to terminate the process. The vulnerability was addressed in version 0.71.0 by replacing the custom unpacker with the official Helm SDK, which enforces per-entry and total size limits.

## Affected products

- Aqua Security Trivy < 0.71.0

## Identifiers

- CVE-2026-54448
- GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4
- GO-2026-5983

## Timeline

- 2026-06-04: disclosed: Initial disclosure by nikpivkin
- 2026-06-25: advisory: NVD publication date
- 2026-07-14: patched: GitHub Advisory reviewed and updated with patch information

## References

- [https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/security/advisories/GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4](https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/security/advisories/GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4)
- [https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/pull/10718](https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/pull/10718)
- [https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/commit/441251e51ae46cbcf7f436547e0a5766b25328b4](https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/commit/441251e51ae46cbcf7f436547e0a5766b25328b4)
- [https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/releases/tag/v0.71.0](https://github.com/aquasecurity/trivy/releases/tag/v0.71.0)
- [https://api.github.com/repos/aquasecurity/trivy/security-advisories/GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4](https://api.github.com/repos/aquasecurity/trivy/security-advisories/GHSA-q3fv-x8vg-qqm4)

## Related threats

- [Aqua Trivy plugin manager path traversal arbitrary file write](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-63328-aqua-trivy-plugin-manager-path-traversal-arbitrary-file-write)
- [Aqua Security Trivy path traversal in OCI artifact downloading](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-55092-aqua-security-trivy-path-traversal-in-oci-artifact-downloading)
- [GO-2026-4919 - Trivy ecosystem supply chain was briefly compromised in github.com/aquasecurity/trivy](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2026-33634-aqua-security-trivy-supply-chain-compromise-via-malicious-code)
- [GO-2024-2870 - Credential leakage in github.com/aquasecurity/trivy](https://junglewise.ai/threats/cve-2024-35192-trivy-possibly-leaks-registry-credential-when-scanning-images)