melange: Incomplete package integrity verification allows data section substitution (CVE-2026-54174) | HOL Guard CVE

High severityCVE-2026-54174GHSA-FPG8-7664-JC5Q

melange: Incomplete package integrity verification allows data section substitution

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-54174 records a High severity vulnerability in melange: Incomplete package integrity verification allows data section substitution. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps chainguard-dev/apko (generic), chainguard-dev/melange (generic), chainguard.dev/apko (go), chainguard.dev/melange (go). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Sep 11, 2026Updated Sep 14, 2026Source checked Sep 17, 2026First seen by HOL Jul 10, 2026Material review Sep 14, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: High
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 4 mapped packages or products
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

A CVSS score is not reported in the current record. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps chainguard-dev/apko (generic), chainguard-dev/melange (generic), chainguard.dev/apko (go), chainguard.dev/melange (go). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
chainguard-dev/apkogeneric	< 1.2.9	Not reported
chainguard-dev/melangegeneric	< 0.50.4	Not reported
chainguard.dev/apkogo	<1.2.9	1.2.9
chainguard.dev/melangego	<0.50.4	0.50.4

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for chainguard-dev/apko, chainguard-dev/melange, chainguard.dev/apko.
Review the reported fix. Update chainguard.dev/apko to 1.2.9; chainguard.dev/melange to 0.50.4 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Sep 11, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 14, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Jul 10, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

melange allows users to build apk packages using declarative pipelines. Apko prior to version 1.2.9, corresponding to melange prior to version 0.50.4, verified the control section hash (`.PKGINFO` etc.) against the signed `APKINDEX`, but never verified the data section hash (the actual package files that get installed). An attacker who could compromise a mirror, poison a cache, or MITM a package fetch could substitute arbitrary file contents while the control hash check still passed. Apko version 1.2.9 and melange version 0.50.4 contain a fix.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.