Summary
OCI Manifest Type Confusion Issue
Workarounds
There is no way to work around this issue without patching.
References
Due to an oversight in the OCI Image Specification that removed the embedded mediaType field from manifests, a maliciously crafted OCI Container Image can cause registry clients to parse the same image in two different ways without modifying the image’s digest by modifying the Content-Type header returned by a registry. This can invalidate a common pattern of relying on container image digests for equivalence.
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in distribution
- Open an issue in distribution-spec
- Email us at [email protected]
Impact
Systems that rely on digest equivalence for image attestations may be vulnerable to type confusion.
An object is accessed using a type that is incompatible with its actual type, causing the runtime to interpret memory incorrectly. Typical impact: memory safety violations, unexpected behavior, or code execution.
GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and user interaction required. 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 (2.8.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Already deployed Kodem?
See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
Upgrade to at least v2.8.0-beta.1 if you are running v2.x release. If you use the code from the main branch, update at least to the commit after b59a6f827947f9e0e67df0cfb571046de4733586.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG? GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG is a low-severity type confusion vulnerability in github.com/docker/distribution (go), affecting versions < 2.8.0. It is fixed in 2.8.0. An object is accessed using a type that is incompatible with its actual type, causing the runtime to interpret memory incorrectly.
- How severe is GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG? GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG has a CVSS score of 3.0 (Low). 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.
- Which versions of github.com/docker/distribution are affected by GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG? github.com/docker/distribution (go) versions < 2.8.0 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG? Yes. GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG is fixed in 2.8.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG 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
- What actually determines whether GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG 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.
- How do I fix GHSA-QQ97-VM5H-RRHG? Upgrade
github.com/docker/distributionto 2.8.0 or later.