CVE-2026-33481

The patch has been released in v1.42.3

Syft now cleans up temporary files when an error condition is encountered.

Workarounds

There are no workarounds for this vulnerability in Syft. Users that find their temporary storage depleted can manually remove the temporary files.

Syft versions before v1.42.3 would not properly cleanup temporary storage if the temporary storage was exhausted during a scan. When scanning archives Syft will unpack those archives into temporary storage then inspect the unpacked contents. Under normal operation Syft will remove the temporary data it writes after completing a scan.

This vulnerability would affect users of Syft that were scanning content that could cause Syft to fill the temporary storage that would then cause Syft to raise an error and exit. When the error is triggered Syft would exit without properly removing the temporary files in use. In our testing this was most easily reproduced by scanning very large artifacts or highly compressed artifacts such as a zipbomb.

Because Syft would not clean up its temporary files, the result would be filling temporary file storage preventing future runs of Syft or other system utilities that rely on temporary storage being available.

CVE-2026-33481 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). The vector is network-reachable, no privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (1.42.3); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

1. What is CVE-2026-33481? CVE-2026-33481 is a medium-severity security vulnerability in github.com/anchore/syft (go), affecting versions < 1.42.3. It is fixed in 1.42.3.
2. How severe is CVE-2026-33481? CVE-2026-33481 has a CVSS score of 5.3 (Medium). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which versions of github.com/anchore/syft are affected by CVE-2026-33481? github.com/anchore/syft (go) versions < 1.42.3 is affected.
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2026-33481? Yes. CVE-2026-33481 is fixed in 1.42.3. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2026-33481 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2026-33481 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2026-33481 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2026-33481? Upgrade github.com/anchore/syft to 1.42.3 or later.