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MalDet · Static Security Report

avalanchego

github.com/ava-labs/avalanchego
Scanned 24 September 2026 at 08:50  ·  Report generated 29 October 2026  ·  Go  ·  2,359 stars
Overall assessment
Critical
Combined score 383  ·  146 findings after filtering

Summary

This repository has two distinct security issues that require immediate attention before it can be used safely. The most critical problem is an insecure gRPC connection found in the code, which means sensitive data could potentially be tampered with by attackers without encryption. Additionally, there are several high-risk patterns in the GitHub Actions workflows, including the use of pull_request_target to access external repositories and hardcoded private keys that should never be stored directly in source files. While some findings appear to be malicious intent or suspicious links, the majority represent standard insecure coding practices like using unencrypted web sockets and running commands without proper input validation. The scan also identified a Dockerfile configuration that allows containers to run as root users, which is a significant risk if an attacker controls the container process. Overall, the repository presents a critical vulnerability score of 380.0 due to these severe security flaws, so it should not be deployed until these issues are fixed by the development team.

Written by a language model running locally on the scanning machine, from the findings in this report. The risk levels above and below were decided by the scoring model, not by this summary.

Risk, by type

MalDet scores two different questions separately, because they call for different responses: code can be badly written without being hostile, and hostile code is not always badly written.

Vulnerability
Critical (380)
Insecure coding an attacker could exploit. Usually mistakes, and usually fixable in place.
Malicious pattern
Low (3)
Signs the code may be trying to do harm: hidden payloads, credential access, persistence, exfiltration.

What each detector found

DetectorLooks for HighMediumLowTotal
semgrep Insecure coding patterns across many languages 33 107 0 140
yara Signatures of malicious behaviour in source files 4 0 1 5
guarddog Malicious package and install-time behaviour 0 1 0 1

116 of 146 findings were rated more likely genuine than noise by the classifier.

Evidence

Identical findings are grouped, so a single rule firing many times takes one row. Ordered worst first. “Seen” is how many times that finding occurred.

SeverityDetectorFindingSeenExample location
high semgrep Found an insecure gRPC connection using 'insecure.NewCredentials()'. This creates a connection without encryption to a gRPC server. A malicious attacker could tamper with the gRPC message, which could compromise the machine. Instead, establish a secure connection with an SSL certificate using the 'g 2 /vms/rpcchainvm/grpcutils/client.go:54
high semgrep This GitHub Actions workflow file uses `pull_request_target` and checks out code from the incoming pull request. When using `pull_request_target`, the Action runs in the context of the target repository, which includes access to all repository secrets. Normally, this is safe because the Action only 1 /.github/workflows/claude-review.yml:33
high semgrep This workflow uses `secrets: inherit` to pass all of the calling workflow's secrets to a reusable workflow. This violates the principle of least privilege because the called workflow receives access to every secret in the repository, not just the ones it needs. If the called workflow is compromised 6 /.github/workflows/bazel-ci-scheduled.yml:50
high semgrep Using variable interpolation `${{...}}` with `github` context data in a `run:` step could allow an attacker to inject their own code into the runner. This would allow them to steal secrets and code. `github` context data can have arbitrary user input and should be treated as untrusted. Instead, use 15 /.github/workflows/self-hosted-load-tests.yaml:43
high semgrep Insecure WebSocket Detected. WebSocket Secure (wss) should be used for all WebSocket connections. 1 /graft/coreth/plugin/evm/service.md:44
high semgrep Detected non-static command inside Command. Audit the input to 'exec.Command'. If unverified user data can reach this call site, this is a code injection vulnerability. A malicious actor can inject a malicious script to execute arbitrary code. 2 /vms/rpcchainvm/runtime/subprocess/non_linux_stopper.go:18
high semgrep Private Key detected. This is a sensitive credential and should not be hardcoded here. Instead, store this in a separate, private file. 5 /staking/local/staker5.key:1
high semgrep By not specifying a USER, a program in the container may run as 'root'. This is a security hazard. If an attacker can control a process running as root, they may have control over the container. Ensure that the last USER in a Dockerfile is a USER other than 'root'. 1 /Dockerfile:76
high yara YARA rule matched: detect_download_and_execute — Downloads a remote resource AND executes it - the actually dangerous combination, not just downloading alone 3 /.github/packaging/Dockerfile.rpm
high yara YARA rule matched: detect_persistence_mechanism — Modifies a startup/scheduling location - legitimate application code essentially never does this 1 /.envrc
medium semgrep This Dependabot configuration does not set a cooldown period. Newly published packages can be malicious or unstable. Add a `cooldown` block with `default-days: 7` to each `package-ecosystem` entry under `updates` to wait 7 days before proposing updates to newly published package versions. Reference: 5 /.github/dependabot.yml:28
medium guarddog Detects URLs to URL shorteners, file sharing, and suspicious services [threat-network-outbound-shady-links] 1 /utils/dynamicip/resolver.go:16
medium semgrep A secret is exposed in the workflow-level `env:` block, making it available to every job and step in this workflow — including any untrusted code run in pull-request workflows. Scope secrets as narrowly as possible: prefer step-level `env:` so the secret is only available where it is actually needed 4 /.github/workflows/bazel-ci.yml:49
medium semgrep GitHub Actions step uses a mutable tag or branch reference. Tags and branch names can be silently repointed by the action owner, enabling supply-chain attacks — as seen in the trivy-action and kics-github-action compromises. Pin the reference to a full 40-character commit SHA instead, e.g. `uses: ac 75 /.github/workflows/build-linux-binaries.yml:138
medium semgrep The profiling 'pprof' endpoint is automatically exposed on /debug/pprof. This could leak information about the server. Instead, use `import "net/http/pprof"`. See https://www.farsightsecurity.com/blog/txt-record/go-remote-profiling-20161028/ for more information and mitigation. 2 /graft/coreth/internal/debug/flags.go:317
medium semgrep When working with web applications that involve rendering user-generated content, it's important to properly escape any HTML content to prevent Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks. In Go, the `text/template` package does not automatically escape HTML content, which can leave your application vuln 2 /graft/coreth/accounts/abi/bind/bind.go:40
medium semgrep Deserializing into `interface{}` allows arbitrary data structures and types, which can lead to security vulnerabilities (CWE-502). Use a concrete struct type instead. 2 /graft/coreth/plugin/evm/config/config.go:218
medium semgrep Checks for disabling of TLS/SSL certificate verification. This should only be used for debugging purposes because it leads to vulnerability to MTM attacks. 1 /network/peer/tls_config.go:31
medium semgrep Found an HTTP server without TLS. Use 'http.ListenAndServeTLS' instead. See https://golang.org/pkg/net/http/#ListenAndServeTLS for more information. 2 /graft/subnet-evm/internal/debug/flags.go:317
medium semgrep Detected directly writing or similar in 'http.ResponseWriter.write()'. This bypasses HTML escaping that prevents cross-site scripting vulnerabilities. Instead, use the 'html/template' package and render data using 'template.Execute()'. 2 /graft/evm/rpc/http.go:307
medium semgrep If an attacker can supply values that the application then uses to determine which method or field to invoke, the potential exists for the attacker to create control flow paths through the application that were not intended by the application developers. This attack vector may allow the attacker to 1 /vms/saevm/cmputils/cmputils.go:44
medium semgrep Do not use `math/rand`. Use `crypto/rand` instead. 11 /network/tracked_ip.go:7
low yara YARA rule matched: detect_downloader — Downloads a remote resource - common and low-signal alone; see detect_download_and_execute for the composite version 1 /README.md

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