Aquasecurity Trivy Embedded Malicious Code

What to do

1. Check which version of setup-trivy you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
2. CISA's required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
3. Read the advisory on github.com for workarounds and exact fixed builds.

Affected products and versions

Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.

How the severity score breaks down

Attack vector

NetworkCan be exploited remotely over a network, including the internet.

Attack complexity

LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.

Privileges required

LowA basic user account is enough.

User interaction

NoneNo action by a victim is required.

Scope

UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.

Confidentiality

HighAll data handled by the component can be read.

Integrity

HighData or code can be modified at will.

Availability

HighThe component can be taken down completely.

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H. Scored by NVD.

Official description

Trivy is a security scanner. On March 19, 2026, a threat actor used compromised credentials to publish a malicious Trivy v0.69.4 release, force-push 76 of 77 version tags in `aquasecurity/trivy-action` to credential-stealing malware, and replace all 7 tags in `aquasecurity/setup-trivy` with malicious commits. This incident is a continuation of the supply chain attack that began in late February 2026. Following the initial disclosure on March 1, credential rotation was performed but was not atomic (not all credentials were revoked simultaneously). The attacker could have use a valid token to exfiltrate newly rotated secrets during the rotation window (which lasted a few days). This could have allowed the attacker to retain access and execute the March 19 attack. Affected components include the `aquasecurity/trivy` Go / Container image version 0.69.4, the `aquasecurity/trivy-action` GitHub Action versions 0.0.1 – 0.34.2 (76/77), and the`aquasecurity/setup-trivy` GitHub Action versions 0.2.0 – 0.2.6, prior to the recreation of 0.2.6 with a safe commit. Known safe versions include versions 0.69.2 and 0.69.3 of the Trivy binary, version 0.35.0 of trivy-action, and version 0.2.6 of setup-trivy. Additionally, take other mitigations to ensure the safety of secrets. If there is any possibility that a compromised version ran in one's environment, all secrets accessible to affected pipelines must be treated as exposed and rotated immediately. Check whether one's organization pulled or executed Trivy v0.69.4 from any source. Remove any affected artifacts immediately. Review all workflows using `aquasecurity/trivy-action` or `aquasecurity/setup-trivy`. Those who referenced a version tag rather than a full commit SHA should check workflow run logs from March 19–20, 2026 for signs of compromise. Look for repositories named `tpcp-docs` in one's GitHub organization. The presence of such a repository may indicate that the fallback exfiltration mechanism was triggered and secrets were successfully stolen. Pin GitHub Actions to full, immutable commit SHA hashes, don't use mutable version tags.

Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.

The underlying weakness: Embedded Malicious Code

Timeline

1. March 23, 2026CVE record published.
2. March 24, 2026CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: active, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
3. March 26, 2026Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue.
4. April 9, 2026Deadline for US federal agencies to remediate, set by CISA.
5. June 17, 2026Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).

References

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