diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses.go
index cb5a67c0d..e3c40af5d 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses.go
@@ -111,8 +111,9 @@ func (c *goLicenseResolver) getLicenses(ctx context.Context, resolver file.Resol
 		}
 	}
 
-	// download from remote sources
-	if c.opts.SearchRemoteLicenses {
+	// download from remote sources; standard library and toolchain paths are not publishable
+	// module paths, so neither a proxy nor a repository has anything to resolve for them
+	if c.opts.SearchRemoteLicenses && !isStandardImportPath(moduleName) {
 		pkgLicenses, err = c.getLicensesFromRemote(ctx, moduleName, moduleVersion)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.WithFields("error", err, "module", moduleName, "version", moduleVersion).Debug("unable to read golang licenses remote")
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses_test.go
index 0674b0449..2eb9aa463 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/golang/licenses_test.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"path"
 	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
+	"sync/atomic"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
@@ -235,6 +236,35 @@ func Test_LicenseSearch(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func Test_remoteLicenseSearchSkipsStandardLibrary(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := pkgtest.Context(t)
+
+	var requests atomic.Int32
+	server := httptest.NewServer(http.HandlerFunc(func(w http.ResponseWriter, _ *http.Request) {
+		requests.Add(1)
+		w.WriteHeader(http.StatusNotFound)
+	}))
+	defer server.Close()
+
+	// module paths whose first element carries no dot are never publishable, so there is
+	// nothing for a proxy or a repository to resolve
+	for _, moduleName := range []string{"cmd/cgo", "std", "runtime", "internal/abi", "command-line-arguments"} {
+		t.Run(moduleName, func(t *testing.T) {
+			requests.Store(0)
+
+			l := newGoLicenseResolver("", CatalogerConfig{
+				SearchRemoteLicenses: true,
+				Proxies:              []string{server.URL},
+			})
+
+			lics := l.getLicenses(ctx, fileresolver.Empty{}, moduleName, "(devel)")
+
+			require.Empty(t, lics)
+			require.Zero(t, requests.Load(), "expected no remote lookup for a standard library module path")
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func Test_processCaps(t *testing.T) {
 	tests := []struct {
 		name     string