diff --git a/cmd/syft/internal/options/archive.go b/cmd/syft/internal/options/archive.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d2a71e1b0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/syft/internal/options/archive.go
@@ -0,0 +1,36 @@
+package options
+
+import (
+	"github.com/anchore/clio"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+)
+
+type archiveConfig struct {
+	MaxDepth                int      `yaml:"max-depth" json:"max-depth" mapstructure:"max-depth"`
+	MaxExtractionSizeBytes  int64    `yaml:"max-extraction-size-bytes" json:"max-extraction-size-bytes" mapstructure:"max-extraction-size-bytes"`
+	MaxFileCount            int      `yaml:"max-file-count" json:"max-file-count" mapstructure:"max-file-count"`
+	MaxTotalExtractionBytes int64    `yaml:"max-total-extraction-bytes" json:"max-total-extraction-bytes" mapstructure:"max-total-extraction-bytes"`
+	ExcludeExtensions       []string `yaml:"exclude-extensions" json:"exclude-extensions" mapstructure:"exclude-extensions"`
+}
+
+var _ interface {
+	clio.FieldDescriber
+} = (*archiveConfig)(nil)
+
+func defaultArchiveConfig() archiveConfig {
+	return archiveConfig{
+		MaxDepth:                cataloging.DefaultArchiveMaxDepth,
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes:  cataloging.DefaultArchiveMaxExtractionSizeBytes,
+		MaxFileCount:            cataloging.DefaultArchiveMaxFileCount,
+		MaxTotalExtractionBytes: cataloging.DefaultArchiveMaxTotalExtractionBytes,
+	}
+}
+
+func (o *archiveConfig) DescribeFields(descriptions clio.FieldDescriptionSet) {
+	descriptions.Add(&o.MaxDepth, `maximum depth of recursive archive extraction (0 = disabled, no recursive extraction)
+enabling this allows syft to discover packages inside nested archives (e.g., a tar.gz containing Python packages)`)
+	descriptions.Add(&o.MaxExtractionSizeBytes, `maximum total bytes to extract from a single archive before stopping`)
+	descriptions.Add(&o.MaxFileCount, `maximum number of files to extract from a single archive before stopping`)
+	descriptions.Add(&o.MaxTotalExtractionBytes, `maximum total bytes to extract across all archives before stopping`)
+	descriptions.Add(&o.ExcludeExtensions, `archive file extensions to skip during recursive extraction (e.g., [".rpm", ".deb"])`)
+}
diff --git a/cmd/syft/internal/options/catalog.go b/cmd/syft/internal/options/catalog.go
index bcb8ab66f..7483983d2 100644
--- a/cmd/syft/internal/options/catalog.go
+++ b/cmd/syft/internal/options/catalog.go
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ type Catalog struct {
 	Package       packageConfig       `yaml:"package" json:"package" mapstructure:"package"`
 	License       licenseConfig       `yaml:"license" json:"license" mapstructure:"license"`
 	File          fileConfig          `yaml:"file" json:"file" mapstructure:"file"`
+	Archive       archiveConfig       `yaml:"archive" json:"archive" mapstructure:"archive"`
 	Scope         string              `yaml:"scope" json:"scope" mapstructure:"scope"`
 	Parallelism   int                 `yaml:"parallelism" json:"parallelism" mapstructure:"parallelism"` // the number of catalog workers to run in parallel
 	Relationships relationshipsConfig `yaml:"relationships" json:"relationships" mapstructure:"relationships"`
@@ -76,6 +77,7 @@ func DefaultCatalog() Catalog {
 		Scope:         source.SquashedScope.String(),
 		Package:       defaultPackageConfig(),
 		License:       defaultLicenseConfig(),
+		Archive:       defaultArchiveConfig(),
 		LinuxKernel:   defaultLinuxKernelConfig(),
 		JavaScript:    defaultJavaScriptConfig(),
 		Python:        defaultPythonConfig(),
@@ -102,6 +104,8 @@ func (cfg Catalog) ToSBOMConfig(id clio.Identification) *syft.CreateSBOMConfig {
 		WithPackagesConfig(cfg.ToPackagesConfig()).
 		WithLicenseConfig(cfg.ToLicenseConfig()).
 		WithFilesConfig(cfg.ToFilesConfig()).
+		WithArchiveConfig(cfg.ToArchiveConfig()).
+		WithExclusions(cfg.Exclusions).
 		WithCatalogerSelection(
 			cataloging.NewSelectionRequest().
 				WithDefaults(cfg.DefaultCatalogers...).
@@ -109,6 +113,18 @@ func (cfg Catalog) ToSBOMConfig(id clio.Identification) *syft.CreateSBOMConfig {
 		)
 }
 
+func (cfg Catalog) ToArchiveConfig() cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	return cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig{
+		IncludeIndexedArchives:   cfg.Package.SearchIndexedArchives,
+		IncludeUnindexedArchives: cfg.Package.SearchUnindexedArchives,
+		MaxDepth:                 cfg.Archive.MaxDepth,
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes:   cfg.Archive.MaxExtractionSizeBytes,
+		MaxFileCount:             cfg.Archive.MaxFileCount,
+		MaxTotalExtractionBytes:  cfg.Archive.MaxTotalExtractionBytes,
+		ExcludeExtensions:        cfg.Archive.ExcludeExtensions,
+	}
+}
+
 func (cfg Catalog) ToSearchConfig() cataloging.SearchConfig {
 	return cataloging.SearchConfig{
 		Scope: source.ParseScope(cfg.Scope),
diff --git a/internal/archive/extractor.go b/internal/archive/extractor.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..d11cce5ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/extractor.go
@@ -0,0 +1,285 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+
+	"github.com/mholt/archives"
+
+	intFile "github.com/anchore/syft/internal/file"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/log"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+)
+
+// Extractor extracts archive contents to a destination directory.
+type Extractor interface {
+	// CanExtract returns true if this extractor can handle the given file.
+	CanExtract(ctx context.Context, path string, reader io.ReadSeeker) bool
+
+	// Extract extracts the archive contents to destDir, respecting the given limits.
+	// Returns the number of files extracted and total bytes written.
+	Extract(ctx context.Context, path string, destDir string, limits ExtractionLimits) (ExtractionResult, error)
+}
+
+// ExtractionLimits defines safety limits for archive extraction.
+type ExtractionLimits struct {
+	MaxExtractionSizeBytes int64
+	MaxFileCount           int
+}
+
+// ExtractionResult holds the result of an extraction operation.
+type ExtractionResult struct {
+	FilesExtracted int
+	BytesWritten   int64
+}
+
+// DefaultExtractionLimits returns limits from the given config.
+func DefaultExtractionLimits(cfg cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig) ExtractionLimits {
+	return ExtractionLimits{
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes: cfg.MaxExtractionSizeBytes,
+		MaxFileCount:           cfg.MaxFileCount,
+	}
+}
+
+// DefaultExtractors returns the set of built-in archive extractors.
+func DefaultExtractors() []Extractor {
+	return []Extractor{
+		&ZipExtractor{},
+		&TarExtractor{},
+	}
+}
+
+// FindExtractor finds an extractor that can handle the given file, or nil if none can.
+func FindExtractor(ctx context.Context, extractors []Extractor, path string) Extractor {
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.Tracef("unable to open file for archive detection: %v", err)
+		return nil
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	for _, ext := range extractors {
+		if ext.CanExtract(ctx, path, f) {
+			return ext
+		}
+		// reset for next extractor
+		if _, err := f.Seek(0, io.SeekStart); err != nil {
+			log.Tracef("unable to seek file for archive detection: %v", err)
+			return nil
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// IsExcludedExtension checks if a file path has an excluded extension.
+func IsExcludedExtension(path string, excludeExtensions []string) bool {
+	for _, ext := range excludeExtensions {
+		if strings.HasSuffix(strings.ToLower(path), strings.ToLower(ext)) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// ZipExtractor extracts zip-based archives (zip, jar, war, ear, etc.).
+type ZipExtractor struct{}
+
+func (z *ZipExtractor) CanExtract(ctx context.Context, path string, reader io.ReadSeeker) bool {
+	format, _, err := intFile.IdentifyArchive(ctx, path, reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	_, ok := format.(archives.Zip)
+	return ok
+}
+
+func (z *ZipExtractor) Extract(ctx context.Context, path string, destDir string, limits ExtractionLimits) (ExtractionResult, error) {
+	var result ExtractionResult
+
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return result, fmt.Errorf("unable to open zip archive %q: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	return result, archives.Zip{}.Extract(ctx, f, func(_ context.Context, file archives.FileInfo) error {
+		if file.IsDir() {
+			joinedPath, err := intFile.SafeJoin(destDir, file.NameInArchive)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			return os.MkdirAll(joinedPath, 0o755)
+		}
+
+		if limits.MaxFileCount > 0 && result.FilesExtracted >= limits.MaxFileCount {
+			return fmt.Errorf("archive file count limit reached (%d files)", limits.MaxFileCount)
+		}
+
+		joinedPath, err := intFile.SafeJoin(destDir, file.NameInArchive)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(joinedPath), 0o755); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("unable to create parent dir: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		return extractFileWithLimits(file, joinedPath, destDir, &result, limits)
+	})
+}
+
+// TarExtractor extracts tar-based archives (tar, tar.gz, tar.bz2, tar.xz, tar.zst).
+type TarExtractor struct{}
+
+func (t *TarExtractor) CanExtract(ctx context.Context, path string, reader io.ReadSeeker) bool {
+	format, _, err := intFile.IdentifyArchive(ctx, path, reader)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false
+	}
+	// mholt/archives returns a compound type for tar+compression, check if it's an extractor but not a zip
+	if _, isZip := format.(archives.Zip); isZip {
+		return false
+	}
+	_, ok := format.(archives.Extractor)
+	return ok
+}
+
+func (t *TarExtractor) Extract(ctx context.Context, path string, destDir string, limits ExtractionLimits) (ExtractionResult, error) {
+	var result ExtractionResult
+
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	if err != nil {
+		return result, fmt.Errorf("unable to open tar archive %q: %w", path, err)
+	}
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	format, readerAfterIdentify, err := intFile.IdentifyArchive(ctx, path, f)
+	if err != nil {
+		return result, fmt.Errorf("unable to identify archive format for %q: %w", path, err)
+	}
+
+	extractor, ok := format.(archives.Extractor)
+	if !ok {
+		return result, fmt.Errorf("file format does not support extraction: %s", path)
+	}
+
+	// use the reader returned by IdentifyArchive since it may have consumed some bytes
+	extractReader := readerAfterIdentify
+	if extractReader == nil {
+		extractReader = f
+	}
+
+	return result, extractor.Extract(ctx, extractReader, func(_ context.Context, file archives.FileInfo) error {
+		if file.IsDir() {
+			joinedPath, err := intFile.SafeJoin(destDir, file.NameInArchive)
+			if err != nil {
+				return err
+			}
+			return os.MkdirAll(joinedPath, 0o755)
+		}
+
+		if limits.MaxFileCount > 0 && result.FilesExtracted >= limits.MaxFileCount {
+			return fmt.Errorf("archive file count limit reached (%d files)", limits.MaxFileCount)
+		}
+
+		joinedPath, err := intFile.SafeJoin(destDir, file.NameInArchive)
+		if err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
+
+		if err := os.MkdirAll(filepath.Dir(joinedPath), 0o755); err != nil {
+			return fmt.Errorf("unable to create parent dir: %w", err)
+		}
+
+		return extractFileWithLimits(file, joinedPath, destDir, &result, limits)
+	})
+}
+
+// extractFileWithLimits extracts a single file from an archive, respecting size limits.
+// Symlinks are written as real symlinks (only when the target stays inside destDir);
+// non-regular file types other than symlinks are skipped to avoid writing bogus content.
+func extractFileWithLimits(file archives.FileInfo, destPath, destDir string, result *ExtractionResult, limits ExtractionLimits) error {
+	mode := file.Mode()
+	if mode.Type()&fs.ModeSymlink != 0 {
+		if err := writeSafeSymlink(file.LinkTarget, destPath, destDir); err != nil {
+			log.WithFields("entry", file.NameInArchive, "target", file.LinkTarget, "error", err).Debug("skipping unsafe symlink in archive")
+			return nil
+		}
+		result.FilesExtracted++
+		return nil
+	}
+	if !mode.IsRegular() {
+		// skip device nodes, fifos, sockets, etc. — they can't safely round-trip
+		log.WithFields("entry", file.NameInArchive, "mode", mode).Debug("skipping non-regular archive entry")
+		return nil
+	}
+
+	src, err := file.Open()
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to open archive entry %q: %w", file.NameInArchive, err)
+	}
+	defer src.Close()
+
+	dst, err := os.OpenFile(destPath, os.O_WRONLY|os.O_CREATE|os.O_TRUNC, mode)
+	if err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("unable to create dest file %q: %w", destPath, err)
+	}
+	defer dst.Close()
+
+	var reader io.Reader = src
+
+	// enforce per-archive total size limit
+	if limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes > 0 {
+		remaining := limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes - result.BytesWritten
+		if remaining <= 0 {
+			return fmt.Errorf("archive extraction size limit reached (%d bytes)", limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes)
+		}
+		reader = io.LimitReader(src, remaining+1) // +1 to detect exceeding the limit
+	}
+
+	n, err := io.Copy(dst, reader)
+	result.BytesWritten += n
+	result.FilesExtracted++
+
+	if limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes > 0 && result.BytesWritten > limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes {
+		return fmt.Errorf("archive extraction size limit reached (%d bytes)", limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes)
+	}
+
+	return err
+}
+
+// writeSafeSymlink creates a symlink at destPath only if target is relative and
+// resolves — relative to destPath's directory — to a location inside destDir.
+//
+// Absolute targets are rejected outright: os.Symlink writes the literal target
+// string, so an absolute target like "/etc/passwd" would resolve on the host
+// filesystem when read, regardless of any safety check we performed against
+// destDir at extraction time.
+//
+// NOTE: this guards against the single-symlink-escape pattern, but a malicious
+// archive can still attempt a multi-step chain where two cooperating link
+// entries together resolve outside destDir (e.g., one entry creates a benign
+// link, a later entry writes through it). Fully preventing that requires
+// either openat/O_NOFOLLOW per path component during extraction or
+// transitively resolving every newly-created symlink against all prior ones
+// — neither is implemented here.
+func writeSafeSymlink(target, destPath, destDir string) error {
+	if target == "" {
+		return fmt.Errorf("empty link target")
+	}
+	if filepath.IsAbs(target) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("absolute symlink target not allowed")
+	}
+	resolved := filepath.Join(filepath.Dir(destPath), target)
+	cleanRoot := filepath.Clean(destDir)
+	cleanResolved := filepath.Clean(resolved)
+	if cleanResolved != cleanRoot && !strings.HasPrefix(cleanResolved, cleanRoot+string(filepath.Separator)) {
+		return fmt.Errorf("symlink target escapes extraction root")
+	}
+	return os.Symlink(target, destPath)
+}
diff --git a/internal/archive/extractor_test.go b/internal/archive/extractor_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..715f90418
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/extractor_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,525 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"archive/zip"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"io/fs"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+)
+
+func createTestZip(t *testing.T, dir string, files map[string]string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	zipPath := filepath.Join(dir, "test.zip")
+	f, err := os.Create(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	w := zip.NewWriter(f)
+	for name, content := range files {
+		fw, err := w.Create(name)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		_, err = fw.Write([]byte(content))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+	return zipPath
+}
+
+func createTestTarGz(t *testing.T, dir string, files map[string]string) string {
+	t.Helper()
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "test.tar.gz")
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	for name, content := range files {
+		hdr := &tar.Header{
+			Name: name,
+			Mode: 0o644,
+			Size: int64(len(content)),
+		}
+		require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(hdr))
+		_, err = tw.Write([]byte(content))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	return tarPath
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_CanExtract(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"hello.txt": "world"})
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+
+	f, err := os.Open(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	assert.True(t, ext.CanExtract(ctx, zipPath, f))
+
+	// non-zip file
+	nonZipPath := filepath.Join(dir, "notazip.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(nonZipPath, []byte("just text"), 0o644))
+
+	f2, err := os.Open(nonZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f2.Close()
+
+	assert.False(t, ext.CanExtract(ctx, nonZipPath, f2))
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_Extract(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	files := map[string]string{
+		"file1.txt":     "content1",
+		"dir/file2.txt": "content2",
+	}
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, files)
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	result, err := ext.Extract(ctx, zipPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, result.FilesExtracted)
+
+	// verify extracted files
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "file1.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "content1", string(content))
+
+	content, err = os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "dir", "file2.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "content2", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_Extract_FileLimitReached(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	files := map[string]string{
+		"file1.txt": "a",
+		"file2.txt": "b",
+		"file3.txt": "c",
+	}
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, files)
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err := ext.Extract(ctx, zipPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{MaxFileCount: 2})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "file count limit")
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_Extract_SizeLimitReached(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	files := map[string]string{
+		"file1.txt": strings.Repeat("x", 100),
+	}
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, files)
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err := ext.Extract(ctx, zipPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{MaxExtractionSizeBytes: 50})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "size limit")
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_CanExtract(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarPath := createTestTarGz(t, dir, map[string]string{"hello.txt": "world"})
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+
+	f, err := os.Open(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	assert.True(t, ext.CanExtract(ctx, tarPath, f))
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_Extract(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	files := map[string]string{
+		"file1.txt":     "content1",
+		"dir/file2.txt": "content2",
+	}
+	tarPath := createTestTarGz(t, dir, files)
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	result, err := ext.Extract(ctx, tarPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, result.FilesExtracted)
+
+	// verify extracted files
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "file1.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "content1", string(content))
+
+	content, err = os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "dir", "file2.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "content2", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestFindExtractor(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	extractors := DefaultExtractors()
+
+	// zip file should match
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"hello.txt": "world"})
+	ext := FindExtractor(ctx, extractors, zipPath)
+	require.NotNil(t, ext)
+	assert.IsType(t, &ZipExtractor{}, ext)
+
+	// tar.gz should match
+	tarPath := createTestTarGz(t, dir, map[string]string{"hello.txt": "world"})
+	ext = FindExtractor(ctx, extractors, tarPath)
+	require.NotNil(t, ext)
+	assert.IsType(t, &TarExtractor{}, ext)
+
+	// non-archive should return nil
+	textPath := filepath.Join(dir, "plain.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(textPath, []byte("just text"), 0o644))
+	ext = FindExtractor(ctx, extractors, textPath)
+	assert.Nil(t, ext)
+}
+
+func TestIsExcludedExtension(t *testing.T) {
+	assert.True(t, IsExcludedExtension("/path/to/file.rpm", []string{".rpm", ".deb"}))
+	assert.True(t, IsExcludedExtension("/path/to/file.deb", []string{".rpm", ".deb"}))
+	assert.False(t, IsExcludedExtension("/path/to/file.zip", []string{".rpm", ".deb"}))
+	assert.False(t, IsExcludedExtension("/path/to/file.zip", nil))
+}
+
+func TestFindExtractor_NoReaders(t *testing.T) {
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	ext := FindExtractor(ctx, DefaultExtractors(), "/nonexistent/path")
+	assert.Nil(t, ext)
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_CanExtract_NonTarFile(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// create a plain text file
+	path := filepath.Join(dir, "plain.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(path, []byte("not a tar"), 0o644))
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	f, err := os.Open(path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	assert.False(t, ext.CanExtract(ctx, path, f))
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_CanExtract_ZipFileReturnsFalse(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"hello.txt": "world"})
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	f, err := os.Open(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	// tar extractor should NOT claim to handle zip files
+	assert.False(t, ext.CanExtract(ctx, zipPath, f))
+}
+
+func TestDefaultExtractionLimits(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig{
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes: 1024,
+		MaxFileCount:           50,
+	}
+	limits := DefaultExtractionLimits(cfg)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(1024), limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes)
+	assert.Equal(t, 50, limits.MaxFileCount)
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_Extract_ZipSlipPrevented(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create a zip with a path traversal entry
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := filepath.Join(dir, "evil.zip")
+	f, err := os.Create(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	w := zip.NewWriter(f)
+	fw, err := w.Create("../../etc/passwd")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	_, err = fw.Write([]byte("evil"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err = ext.Extract(ctx, zipPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.Error(t, err)
+	assert.Contains(t, err.Error(), "path traversal")
+
+	// verify evil file was not created
+	_, statErr := os.Stat(filepath.Join(dir, "etc", "passwd"))
+	assert.True(t, os.IsNotExist(statErr))
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_Extract_SymlinkInsideRootIsCreated(t *testing.T) {
+	// A tar archive with a symlink whose target stays inside the extraction
+	// directory should be written as a real symlink, not as a regular file
+	// containing the link target as bytes.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "with-link.tar.gz")
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	target := []byte("real content")
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name: "real.txt",
+		Mode: 0o644,
+		Size: int64(len(target)),
+	}))
+	_, err = tw.Write(target)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name:     "link.txt",
+		Linkname: "real.txt",
+		Typeflag: tar.TypeSymlink,
+		Mode:     0o777,
+	}))
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err = ext.Extract(ctx, tarPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// the link should be a real symlink
+	info, err := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(destDir, "link.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.NotZero(t, info.Mode()&fs.ModeSymlink, "expected link.txt to be a symlink, got mode %v", info.Mode())
+
+	// reading through the link should return the target's content
+	readBack, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "link.txt"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "real content", string(readBack))
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_Extract_SymlinkEscapingRootIsSkipped(t *testing.T) {
+	// A symlink whose target resolves outside the extraction directory must not
+	// be created — neither as a symlink nor as a regular file. Extraction itself
+	// should succeed (the unsafe entry is skipped, not fatal).
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "evil-link.tar.gz")
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name:     "passwd",
+		Linkname: "../../../../etc/passwd",
+		Typeflag: tar.TypeSymlink,
+		Mode:     0o777,
+	}))
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err = ext.Extract(ctx, tarPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// nothing should have been created at the destination
+	_, statErr := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(destDir, "passwd"))
+	assert.True(t, os.IsNotExist(statErr), "expected no entry to be created for escaping symlink")
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_Extract_AbsoluteSymlinkTargetIsSkipped(t *testing.T) {
+	// Absolute symlink targets must be rejected: os.Symlink writes the literal
+	// target, so once the symlink is read it resolves on the host filesystem
+	// regardless of any safety check at extraction time. Verifying both that
+	// the symlink itself is not created and (importantly) that nothing was
+	// written under destDir along the absolute path.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "absolute-link.tar.gz")
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name:     "shadow",
+		Linkname: "/etc/shadow",
+		Typeflag: tar.TypeSymlink,
+		Mode:     0o777,
+	}))
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	_, err = ext.Extract(ctx, tarPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// the symlink itself must not exist
+	_, statErr := os.Lstat(filepath.Join(destDir, "shadow"))
+	assert.True(t, os.IsNotExist(statErr), "expected absolute-target symlink to be skipped")
+}
+
+func TestZipExtractor_Extract_ReadOnlyDirectoryPermissions(t *testing.T) {
+	// JARs may contain directory entries with read-only permissions (e.g., META-INF/ with mode 0o555).
+	// The extractor must still be able to write files into those directories.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := filepath.Join(dir, "readonly-dirs.zip")
+	f, err := os.Create(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	w := zip.NewWriter(f)
+
+	// create a directory entry with read-only permissions (0o555)
+	dirHeader := &zip.FileHeader{
+		Name: "META-INF/",
+	}
+	dirHeader.SetMode(0o555)
+	_, err = w.CreateHeader(dirHeader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// create a file inside that directory
+	fileHeader := &zip.FileHeader{
+		Name: "META-INF/MANIFEST.MF",
+	}
+	fileHeader.SetMode(0o644)
+	fw, err := w.CreateHeader(fileHeader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	_, err = fw.Write([]byte("Manifest-Version: 1.0"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &ZipExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	result, err := ext.Extract(ctx, zipPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, result.FilesExtracted)
+
+	content, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "META-INF", "MANIFEST.MF"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "Manifest-Version: 1.0", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestTarExtractor_Extract_ReadOnlyDirectoryPermissions(t *testing.T) {
+	// Tar archives may contain directory entries with read-only permissions.
+	// The extractor must still be able to write files into those directories.
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "readonly-dirs.tar.gz")
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	// write a directory entry with read-only permissions
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name:     "META-INF/",
+		Typeflag: tar.TypeDir,
+		Mode:     0o555,
+	}))
+
+	// write a file inside that directory
+	content := []byte("Manifest-Version: 1.0")
+	require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(&tar.Header{
+		Name: "META-INF/MANIFEST.MF",
+		Mode: 0o644,
+		Size: int64(len(content)),
+	}))
+	_, err = tw.Write(content)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, f.Close())
+
+	ext := &TarExtractor{}
+	destDir := filepath.Join(dir, "extracted")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(destDir, 0o755))
+
+	result, err := ext.Extract(ctx, tarPath, destDir, ExtractionLimits{})
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, result.FilesExtracted)
+
+	extracted, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(destDir, "META-INF", "MANIFEST.MF"))
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "Manifest-Version: 1.0", string(extracted))
+}
diff --git a/internal/archive/integration_test.go b/internal/archive/integration_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..3566ac518
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/integration_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,524 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"archive/tar"
+	"archive/zip"
+	"compress/gzip"
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+)
+
+// TestIntegration_TarGzContainingPythonPackage tests the scenario where a tar.gz
+// archive contains Python package metadata files that would normally be found by
+// the Python cataloger. This verifies the orchestrator makes those files visible.
+func TestIntegration_TarGzContainingPythonPackage(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create a tar.gz containing Python dist-info metadata
+	tarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "python-packages.tar.gz")
+	createTarGzWithFiles(t, tarPath, map[string]string{
+		"lib/python3.9/site-packages/requests-2.28.0.dist-info/METADATA": `Metadata-Version: 2.1
+Name: requests
+Version: 2.28.0
+Summary: Python HTTP for Humans.
+`,
+		"lib/python3.9/site-packages/requests-2.28.0.dist-info/RECORD": "requests/__init__.py,sha256=abc,1234",
+		"lib/python3.9/site-packages/requests/__init__.py":              "# requests library",
+	})
+	tarContent, err := os.ReadFile(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Base resolver sees the tar.gz as a single opaque file
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/app/python-packages.tar.gz": string(tarContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Extract the archive
+	count := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count, "should extract the tar.gz")
+
+	// The Python METADATA file should now be visible through the composite resolver
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+	locs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/lib/python3.9/site-packages/requests-2.28.0.dist-info/METADATA")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "METADATA file should be visible through the composite resolver")
+
+	// Verify the access path shows it came from the archive
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "python-packages.tar.gz:")
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "METADATA")
+
+	// Verify we can read the content
+	reader, err := resolver.FileContentsByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+
+	buf := make([]byte, 1024)
+	n, _ := reader.Read(buf)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(buf[:n]), "Name: requests")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_ZipContainingJar tests a zip archive containing a JAR file,
+// which itself should be extractable in a second round.
+func TestIntegration_ZipContainingJar(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create an inner JAR (which is just a zip) with a MANIFEST.MF
+	innerJarPath := filepath.Join(dir, "inner.jar")
+	createZipWithFiles(t, innerJarPath, map[string]string{
+		"META-INF/MANIFEST.MF": `Manifest-Version: 1.0
+Implementation-Title: example-lib
+Implementation-Version: 1.2.3
+`,
+	})
+	innerJarContent, err := os.ReadFile(innerJarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Create an outer zip containing the JAR and other files
+	outerZipPath := filepath.Join(dir, "app-bundle.zip")
+	createZipWithFiles(t, outerZipPath, map[string]string{
+		"lib/example-lib-1.2.3.jar": string(innerJarContent),
+		"README.md":                 "# Application Bundle",
+	})
+	outerZipContent, err := os.ReadFile(outerZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/downloads/app-bundle.zip": string(outerZipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 2
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Round 1: extract outer zip
+	count1 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count1, "should extract outer zip")
+
+	// Round 2: extract inner JAR found inside the zip
+	count2 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 1)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count2, "should extract inner JAR")
+
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+
+	// The MANIFEST.MF from inside the JAR should be visible
+	locs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/META-INF/MANIFEST.MF")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "MANIFEST.MF should be visible from nested JAR")
+
+	// The access path should show the full nesting chain
+	accessPath := locs[0].AccessPath
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "app-bundle.zip:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "example-lib-1.2.3.jar:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "MANIFEST.MF")
+
+	// Verify relationships
+	rels := orch.Relationships()
+	assert.Len(t, rels, 2, "should have relationships for both extracted archives")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_MixedArchiveTypes tests a directory containing both
+// zip and tar.gz archives that should be extracted in a single round.
+func TestIntegration_MixedArchiveTypes(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create a zip
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{
+		"from-zip.txt": "zip content",
+	})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Create a tar.gz
+	tarPath := createTestTarGz(t, dir, map[string]string{
+		"from-tar.txt": "tar content",
+	})
+	tarContent, err := os.ReadFile(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/data/archive.zip":    string(zipContent),
+		"/data/archive.tar.gz": string(tarContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	count := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, count, "should extract both archives")
+
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+
+	// Both files should be visible
+	zipLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/from-zip.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, zipLocs, 1, "file from zip should be visible")
+
+	tarLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/from-tar.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, tarLocs, 1, "file from tar should be visible")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_DepthLimitPreventsDeepExtraction verifies that the
+// depth limit correctly stops extraction at the configured level.
+func TestIntegration_DepthLimitPreventsDeepExtraction(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create a deeply nested archive: zip -> zip -> zip -> file
+	innermostDir := filepath.Join(dir, "inner")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(innermostDir, 0o755))
+	innermost := createTestZip(t, innermostDir, map[string]string{
+		"secret.txt": "you found me!",
+	})
+	innermostContent, err := os.ReadFile(innermost)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	middleDir := filepath.Join(dir, "middle")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(middleDir, 0o755))
+	middle := createTestZip(t, middleDir, map[string]string{
+		"innermost.zip": string(innermostContent),
+	})
+	middleContent, err := os.ReadFile(middle)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	outerDir := filepath.Join(dir, "outer")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(outerDir, 0o755))
+	outerZip := createTestZip(t, outerDir, map[string]string{
+		"middle.zip": string(middleContent),
+	})
+	outerContent, err := os.ReadFile(outerZip)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/nested.zip": string(outerContent),
+	})
+
+	// Only allow depth 1 — should only extract the outer zip
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	count := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, count, "should only extract the outer zip")
+
+	// middle.zip should be visible but secret.txt should NOT be
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+
+	middleLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/middle.zip")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, middleLocs, 1, "middle.zip should be visible at depth 1")
+
+	secretLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/secret.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, secretLocs, 0, "secret.txt should NOT be visible (depth limit)")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_ExcludeExtensionPreventsExtraction verifies that
+// excluded extensions are respected.
+func TestIntegration_ExcludeExtensionPreventsExtraction(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{
+		"data.txt": "from zip",
+	})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/archive.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.ExcludeExtensions = []string{".zip"} // exclude zip files
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	count := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, count, "zip should be excluded by extension")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_MultiLevelMixedFormats tests a 3-level nesting chain with
+// different archive formats: tar.gz -> zip -> tar.gz -> files.
+// This is the most realistic cross-format recursive extraction scenario.
+func TestIntegration_MultiLevelMixedFormats(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Level 3 (deepest): a tar.gz containing application files
+	level3Dir := filepath.Join(dir, "level3")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(level3Dir, 0o755))
+	level3Path := filepath.Join(level3Dir, "app-data.tar.gz")
+	createTarGzWithFiles(t, level3Path, map[string]string{
+		"config.yaml": "app: myapp\nversion: 1.0",
+		"bin/run.sh":  "#!/bin/sh\necho hello",
+	})
+	level3Content, err := os.ReadFile(level3Path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Level 2: a zip containing the level3 tar.gz and some metadata
+	level2Dir := filepath.Join(dir, "level2")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(level2Dir, 0o755))
+	level2Path := filepath.Join(level2Dir, "package.zip")
+	createZipWithFiles(t, level2Path, map[string]string{
+		"app-data.tar.gz":   string(level3Content),
+		"package-info.json": `{"name": "mypackage", "version": "2.0"}`,
+	})
+	level2Content, err := os.ReadFile(level2Path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Level 1 (outermost): a tar.gz containing the level2 zip
+	level1Dir := filepath.Join(dir, "level1")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(level1Dir, 0o755))
+	level1Path := filepath.Join(level1Dir, "distribution.tar.gz")
+	createTarGzWithFiles(t, level1Path, map[string]string{
+		"package.zip": string(level2Content),
+		"LICENSE":     "MIT License",
+	})
+	level1Content, err := os.ReadFile(level1Path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/distribution.tar.gz": string(level1Content),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 3
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Round 1: extract distribution.tar.gz
+	count1 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count1, "round 1: should extract distribution.tar.gz")
+
+	// Round 2: extract package.zip from inside distribution.tar.gz
+	count2 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 1)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count2, "round 2: should extract package.zip")
+
+	// Round 3: extract app-data.tar.gz from inside package.zip
+	count3 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 2)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count3, "round 3: should extract app-data.tar.gz")
+
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+
+	// Verify files from all levels are accessible:
+
+	// Level 1: LICENSE from distribution.tar.gz
+	locs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/LICENSE")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "LICENSE from level 1 should be visible")
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "distribution.tar.gz:")
+
+	// Level 2: package-info.json from package.zip
+	locs, err = resolver.FilesByPath("/package-info.json")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "package-info.json from level 2 should be visible")
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "package.zip:")
+
+	// Level 3: config.yaml from app-data.tar.gz
+	locs, err = resolver.FilesByPath("/config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "config.yaml from level 3 should be visible")
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "app-data.tar.gz:")
+
+	// Level 3: bin/run.sh from app-data.tar.gz
+	locs, err = resolver.FilesByPath("/bin/run.sh")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1, "bin/run.sh from level 3 should be visible")
+
+	// Verify we can read deeply nested content
+	reader, err := resolver.FileContentsByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+	buf := make([]byte, 1024)
+	n, _ := reader.Read(buf)
+	assert.Contains(t, string(buf[:n]), "echo hello")
+
+	// Verify relationships cover all 3 levels
+	rels := orch.Relationships()
+	assert.Len(t, rels, 3, "should have 3 relationships (one per extracted archive)")
+}
+
+// TestIntegration_TarInsideZipInsideTar tests tar -> zip -> tar nesting
+// (the reverse of the above test), ensuring bidirectional format crossing.
+func TestIntegration_TarInsideZipInsideTar(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Innermost: a tar.gz with a single file
+	innerTarDir := filepath.Join(dir, "innertar")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(innerTarDir, 0o755))
+	innerTarPath := filepath.Join(innerTarDir, "inner.tar.gz")
+	createTarGzWithFiles(t, innerTarPath, map[string]string{
+		"deeply-nested.txt": "found at the bottom",
+	})
+	innerTarContent, err := os.ReadFile(innerTarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Middle: a zip containing the inner tar
+	middleZipDir := filepath.Join(dir, "middlezip")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(middleZipDir, 0o755))
+	middleZipPath := filepath.Join(middleZipDir, "middle.zip")
+	createZipWithFiles(t, middleZipPath, map[string]string{
+		"inner.tar.gz": string(innerTarContent),
+		"middle.txt":   "middle level",
+	})
+	middleZipContent, err := os.ReadFile(middleZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Outermost: a tar.gz containing the middle zip
+	outerTarDir := filepath.Join(dir, "outertar")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(outerTarDir, 0o755))
+	outerTarPath := filepath.Join(outerTarDir, "outer.tar.gz")
+	createTarGzWithFiles(t, outerTarPath, map[string]string{
+		"middle.zip": string(middleZipContent),
+		"outer.txt":  "outer level",
+	})
+	outerTarContent, err := os.ReadFile(outerTarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/outer.tar.gz": string(outerTarContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 3
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Extract all 3 levels
+	count1 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count1)
+	count2 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 1)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count2)
+	count3 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 2)
+	require.Equal(t, 1, count3)
+
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+
+	// Check all levels are accessible
+	outerLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/outer.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, outerLocs, 1)
+
+	middleLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/middle.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, middleLocs, 1)
+
+	deepLocs, err := resolver.FilesByPath("/deeply-nested.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, deepLocs, 1)
+
+	// Read the deeply nested content
+	reader, err := resolver.FileContentsByLocation(deepLocs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+	buf := make([]byte, 1024)
+	n, _ := reader.Read(buf)
+	assert.Equal(t, "found at the bottom", string(buf[:n]))
+
+	// The access path should show the full chain: tar -> zip -> tar -> file
+	accessPath := deepLocs[0].AccessPath
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "outer.tar.gz:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "middle.zip:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "inner.tar.gz:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPath, "deeply-nested.txt")
+}
+
+// createZipWithFiles creates a zip at the given path with the given files.
+func createZipWithFiles(t *testing.T, zipPath string, files map[string]string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	f, err := os.Create(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	w := zip.NewWriter(f)
+	for name, content := range files {
+		fw, err := w.Create(name)
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+		_, err = fw.Write([]byte(content))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, w.Close())
+}
+
+// createTarGzWithFiles creates a tar.gz at the given path with the given files.
+func createTarGzWithFiles(t *testing.T, tarPath string, files map[string]string) {
+	t.Helper()
+	f, err := os.Create(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer f.Close()
+
+	gw := gzip.NewWriter(f)
+	tw := tar.NewWriter(gw)
+
+	// sort keys for deterministic output
+	for name, content := range files {
+		// create parent dirs as needed
+		dir := filepath.Dir(name)
+		if dir != "." {
+			hdr := &tar.Header{
+				Typeflag: tar.TypeDir,
+				Name:     dir + "/",
+				Mode:     0o755,
+			}
+			require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(hdr))
+		}
+
+		hdr := &tar.Header{
+			Name: name,
+			Mode: 0o644,
+			Size: int64(len(content)),
+		}
+		require.NoError(t, tw.WriteHeader(hdr))
+		_, err = tw.Write([]byte(content))
+		require.NoError(t, err)
+	}
+	require.NoError(t, tw.Close())
+	require.NoError(t, gw.Close())
+}
+
diff --git a/internal/archive/orchestrator.go b/internal/archive/orchestrator.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..0a8e1a934
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/orchestrator.go
@@ -0,0 +1,362 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/log"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/artifact"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
+)
+
+// ResolverFactory creates a file.Resolver for a directory path.
+// This is injectable to avoid direct dependency on syft/internal/fileresolver.
+type ResolverFactory func(root string) (file.Resolver, error)
+
+// Orchestrator manages iterative archive extraction and cataloging. It discovers
+// archives in the file resolver, extracts them, builds child resolvers for their
+// contents, and tracks the relationships between archives and their contents.
+type Orchestrator struct {
+	composite       *CompositeResolver
+	extractors      []Extractor
+	config          cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig
+	tmpDir          string
+	resolverFactory ResolverFactory
+
+	// tracking state
+	processed         map[processedKey]bool // archives we've already considered for extraction
+	totalBytesWritten int64
+	archiveNodes      []*archiveNode // for relationship tracking
+	cleanups          []func()
+	mu                sync.Mutex
+}
+
+// archiveNode tracks an extracted archive for relationship generation.
+type archiveNode struct {
+	location file.Location // where the archive is in the resolver
+	fsID     string        // the filesystem ID assigned to this archive's contents
+	depth    int
+}
+
+// processedKey identifies an archive location uniquely. We key the processed
+// map on a struct (not a "<fsID>:<realPath>" string) because both fields can
+// legally contain ':' — fsIDs are emitted as "archive:<hex>" and POSIX paths
+// permit colons — so a string key would have an ambiguous boundary.
+type processedKey struct {
+	fsID     string
+	realPath string
+}
+
+// NewOrchestrator creates an Orchestrator that manages archive extraction.
+// The resolverFactory is used to build file.Resolvers for extracted archive directories.
+func NewOrchestrator(baseResolver file.Resolver, cfg cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig, tmpDir string, resolverFactory ResolverFactory) *Orchestrator {
+	return &Orchestrator{
+		composite:       NewCompositeResolver(baseResolver),
+		extractors:      DefaultExtractors(),
+		config:          cfg,
+		tmpDir:          tmpDir,
+		resolverFactory: resolverFactory,
+		processed:       make(map[processedKey]bool),
+	}
+}
+
+// Resolver returns the composite resolver that includes all extracted archive contents.
+func (o *Orchestrator) Resolver() *CompositeResolver {
+	return o.composite
+}
+
+// DiscoverAndExtract finds archives in the current resolver view, extracts them,
+// and adds their contents as child resolvers. Returns the number of new archives extracted.
+// The depth parameter indicates the current nesting depth (0 = scanning base filesystem).
+func (o *Orchestrator) DiscoverAndExtract(ctx context.Context, depth int) int {
+	if depth >= o.config.MaxDepth {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	o.mu.Lock()
+	defer o.mu.Unlock()
+
+	if o.config.MaxTotalExtractionBytes > 0 && o.totalBytesWritten >= o.config.MaxTotalExtractionBytes {
+		log.Debug("archive orchestrator: total extraction size limit reached, stopping")
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	// build the list of extractors actually permitted by config — every
+	// non-archive location in the resolver is going to pay a peek read against
+	// these, so excluding disabled types up-front avoids reading files we
+	// would only end up rejecting after detection.
+	enabled := o.enabledExtractors()
+	if len(enabled) == 0 {
+		return 0
+	}
+
+	newArchives := 0
+
+	// scan all locations in the current resolver for archives
+	for loc := range o.composite.AllLocations(ctx) {
+		if ctx.Err() != nil {
+			break
+		}
+
+		// skip already-processed archives
+		key := processedKey{fsID: loc.FileSystemID, realPath: loc.RealPath}
+		if o.processed[key] {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// skip excluded extensions
+		if IsExcludedExtension(loc.RealPath, o.config.ExcludeExtensions) {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// check if this location is an archive we can extract — peek a small
+		// buffer rather than materializing the full file content, which would
+		// be a full disk-to-disk copy of every non-archive file in the resolver.
+		ext := o.detectFormat(ctx, loc, enabled)
+		if ext == nil {
+			continue
+		}
+
+		// mark as processed before extraction to avoid re-processing
+		o.processed[key] = true
+
+		// extract the archive
+		extracted, err := o.extractArchive(ctx, ext, loc, depth+1)
+		if err != nil {
+			log.WithFields("archive", loc.Path(), "error", err).Debug("failed to extract archive")
+			continue
+		}
+		if extracted {
+			newArchives++
+		}
+	}
+
+	return newArchives
+}
+
+// enabledExtractors returns the subset of o.extractors whose corresponding
+// config gate is on (IncludeIndexedArchives for ZipExtractor,
+// IncludeUnindexedArchives for TarExtractor).
+func (o *Orchestrator) enabledExtractors() []Extractor {
+	var out []Extractor
+	for _, ext := range o.extractors {
+		switch ext.(type) {
+		case *ZipExtractor:
+			if o.config.IncludeIndexedArchives {
+				out = append(out, ext)
+			}
+		case *TarExtractor:
+			if o.config.IncludeUnindexedArchives {
+				out = append(out, ext)
+			}
+		default:
+			// unknown extractor types: include by default so plugin extractors
+			// added in the future aren't silently disabled
+			out = append(out, ext)
+		}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
+// extractArchive extracts a single archive and registers its contents as a child resolver.
+func (o *Orchestrator) extractArchive(ctx context.Context, ext Extractor, loc file.Location, depth int) (bool, error) {
+	// create a temp dir for this archive's contents
+	extractDir, err := os.MkdirTemp(o.tmpDir, fmt.Sprintf("archive-depth%d-*", depth))
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("unable to create temp dir: %w", err)
+	}
+	o.cleanups = append(o.cleanups, func() {
+		os.RemoveAll(extractDir)
+	})
+
+	// extractors need a file path, so materialize the archive contents to a temp file
+	tmpPath, err := o.copyArchiveToTempFile(loc)
+	if err != nil {
+		return false, err
+	}
+	defer os.Remove(tmpPath)
+
+	// calculate remaining budget
+	limits := ExtractionLimits{
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes: o.config.MaxExtractionSizeBytes,
+		MaxFileCount:           o.config.MaxFileCount,
+	}
+	if o.config.MaxTotalExtractionBytes > 0 {
+		remaining := o.config.MaxTotalExtractionBytes - o.totalBytesWritten
+		if remaining <= 0 {
+			return false, fmt.Errorf("total extraction budget exhausted")
+		}
+		if limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes == 0 || remaining < limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes {
+			limits.MaxExtractionSizeBytes = remaining
+		}
+	}
+
+	result, err := ext.Extract(ctx, tmpPath, extractDir, limits)
+	if err != nil {
+		log.WithFields("archive", loc.Path(), "error", err).Debug("archive extraction stopped")
+		// partial extraction is still useful, continue if we got some files
+		if result.FilesExtracted == 0 {
+			return false, err
+		}
+	}
+
+	o.totalBytesWritten += result.BytesWritten
+
+	if result.FilesExtracted == 0 {
+		return false, nil
+	}
+
+	// build a directory resolver for the extracted contents
+	childResolver, resolverErr := o.resolverFactory(extractDir)
+	if resolverErr != nil {
+		return false, fmt.Errorf("unable to build resolver for extracted archive: %w", resolverErr)
+	}
+
+	fsID := o.composite.AddChild(childResolver, loc, depth)
+
+	// track for relationship generation
+	o.archiveNodes = append(o.archiveNodes, &archiveNode{
+		location: loc,
+		fsID:     fsID,
+		depth:    depth,
+	})
+
+	log.WithFields(
+		"archive", loc.Path(),
+		"depth", depth,
+		"files", result.FilesExtracted,
+		"bytes", result.BytesWritten,
+	).Debug("extracted archive contents")
+
+	return true, nil
+}
+
+// formatProbeBytes is the size of the buffer peeked from each candidate file
+// to decide whether it's an extractable archive.
+//
+// Single-step formats only need their magic bytes (ZIP: 4, gzip/bzip2/xz/zstd:
+// 2-6, tar: a 512-byte first-block header). The size that matters is for
+// compressed-tar without a recognized extension: there mholt/archives must
+// gzip-decode our peek buffer and feed the result to tar.NewReader.Next(),
+// which needs a full 512-byte tar header out the back. 4 KiB of compressed
+// input gives gzip a comfortable margin and is still a single filesystem
+// block read.
+const formatProbeBytes = 4096
+
+// detectFormat returns the first enabled extractor that can handle loc by
+// peeking a small buffer of its contents (no full materialization). Returns
+// nil when no extractor matches or when the file can't be opened. The caller
+// is responsible for narrowing extractors to those permitted by config so we
+// don't pay peek I/O for archive types that would only be rejected later.
+func (o *Orchestrator) detectFormat(ctx context.Context, loc file.Location, extractors []Extractor) Extractor {
+	reader, err := o.composite.FileContentsByLocation(loc)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil
+	}
+	defer internal.CloseAndLogError(reader, loc.RealPath)
+
+	var peek [formatProbeBytes]byte
+	n, _ := io.ReadFull(reader, peek[:])
+	if n == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	for _, ext := range extractors {
+		if ext.CanExtract(ctx, loc.RealPath, bytes.NewReader(peek[:n])) {
+			return ext
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// copyArchiveToTempFile reads the archive contents from the resolver and writes them
+// to a freshly-created temp file under o.tmpDir. The returned path must be removed
+// by the caller (typically via defer).
+func (o *Orchestrator) copyArchiveToTempFile(loc file.Location) (string, error) {
+	reader, err := o.composite.FileContentsByLocation(loc)
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to get archive contents: %w", err)
+	}
+	defer internal.CloseAndLogError(reader, loc.RealPath)
+
+	tmpFile, err := os.CreateTemp(o.tmpDir, "archive-src-*")
+	if err != nil {
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to create temp file: %w", err)
+	}
+	_, copyErr := safeIOCopy(tmpFile, reader)
+	tmpFile.Close()
+	if copyErr != nil {
+		os.Remove(tmpFile.Name())
+		return "", fmt.Errorf("unable to copy archive to temp: %w", copyErr)
+	}
+	return tmpFile.Name(), nil
+}
+
+// Relationships returns the archive containment relationships discovered during extraction.
+func (o *Orchestrator) Relationships() []artifact.Relationship {
+	o.mu.Lock()
+	defer o.mu.Unlock()
+
+	var rels []artifact.Relationship
+	for _, node := range o.archiveNodes {
+		// Create a "contains" relationship: the archive contains its extracted content
+		// The archive file (identified by its coordinates) contains the child filesystem
+		rels = append(rels, artifact.Relationship{
+			From: node.location.Coordinates,
+			To:   file.Coordinates{RealPath: "/", FileSystemID: node.fsID},
+			Type: artifact.ContainsRelationship,
+		})
+	}
+	return rels
+}
+
+// Cleanup removes all temporary directories created during extraction.
+func (o *Orchestrator) Cleanup() {
+	o.mu.Lock()
+	defer o.mu.Unlock()
+	for _, cleanup := range o.cleanups {
+		cleanup()
+	}
+	o.cleanups = nil
+}
+
+// safeIOCopy copies with a size limit to prevent decompression bombs.
+func safeIOCopy(dst *os.File, src interface{ Read([]byte) (int, error) }) (int64, error) {
+	const maxCopySize = 2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 // 2GB
+	return limitedCopy(dst, src, maxCopySize)
+}
+
+func limitedCopy(dst *os.File, src interface{ Read([]byte) (int, error) }, limit int64) (int64, error) {
+	n, err := copyN(dst, src, limit)
+	if n >= limit {
+		return n, fmt.Errorf("copy size limit reached (%d bytes)", limit)
+	}
+	return n, err
+}
+
+func copyN(dst *os.File, src interface{ Read([]byte) (int, error) }, limit int64) (int64, error) {
+	buf := make([]byte, 32*1024)
+	var written int64
+	for written < limit {
+		nr, readErr := src.Read(buf)
+		if nr > 0 {
+			nw, writeErr := dst.Write(buf[:nr])
+			written += int64(nw)
+			if writeErr != nil {
+				return written, writeErr
+			}
+		}
+		if readErr != nil {
+			if readErr == io.EOF {
+				return written, nil
+			}
+			return written, readErr
+		}
+	}
+	return written, nil
+}
diff --git a/internal/archive/orchestrator_test.go b/internal/archive/orchestrator_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bae414c5e
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/orchestrator_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,537 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
+)
+
+// testResolverFactory creates a simple mock resolver factory for testing.
+func testResolverFactory(root string) (file.Resolver, error) {
+	// Walk the directory and create a mock resolver from its contents
+	files := make(map[string]string)
+	err := filepath.Walk(root, func(path string, info os.FileInfo, err error) error {
+		if err != nil || info.IsDir() {
+			return err
+		}
+		relPath, _ := filepath.Rel(root, path)
+		content, readErr := os.ReadFile(path)
+		if readErr != nil {
+			return readErr
+		}
+		files["/"+relPath] = string(content)
+		return nil
+	})
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	return newMockResolver(files), nil
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_ZipArchive(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create a zip file in the "source" directory
+	zipFiles := map[string]string{
+		"inner.txt": "hello from inside the zip",
+		"lib/a.so":  "library content",
+	}
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, zipFiles)
+
+	// Create a parent resolver that sees the zip file
+	parentFiles := map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": "placeholder", // the resolver sees the file
+	}
+	parent := newMockResolver(parentFiles)
+
+	// Override FileContentsByLocation to return actual zip content
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	parent.contents["/test.zip"] = string(zipContent)
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, newCount)
+
+	// the composite resolver should now have the child files
+	resolver := orch.Resolver()
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, resolver.ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_TarGzArchive(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	tarFiles := map[string]string{
+		"inner.txt": "hello from tar",
+	}
+	tarPath := createTestTarGz(t, dir, tarFiles)
+
+	tarContent, err := os.ReadFile(tarPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.tar.gz": string(tarContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives = true // tar needs this enabled
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, newCount)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_DepthLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/file.txt": "just a file",
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// at depth 1 (== MaxDepth), should extract nothing
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount)
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_NoArchives(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/file.txt": "plain text",
+		"/data.csv": "a,b,c",
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 3
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_ExcludeExtension(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.ExcludeExtensions = []string{".zip"}
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount)
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DiscoverAndExtract_TotalSizeLimit(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.MaxTotalExtractionBytes = 1 // 1 byte total limit - will be exceeded
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// should still extract but hit the limit
+	_ = orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	// second call should be blocked by total limit
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount)
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_Relationships(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+
+	rels := orch.Relationships()
+	assert.NotEmpty(t, rels)
+
+	// should have a contains relationship for the archive
+	for _, rel := range rels {
+		assert.Equal(t, "contains", string(rel.Type))
+	}
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_Cleanup(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+
+	orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+
+	// verify temp dirs exist
+	entries, err := os.ReadDir(tmpDir)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	initialCount := len(entries)
+	assert.True(t, initialCount > 0, "expected temp dirs to be created")
+
+	orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// verify temp dirs are cleaned up
+	entries, err = os.ReadDir(tmpDir)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.True(t, len(entries) < initialCount, "expected temp dirs to be cleaned up")
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_DoesNotReprocess(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 2
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// first call extracts the archive
+	first := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, first)
+
+	// second call should not re-extract the same archive
+	second := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, second)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_NestedArchives_ZipInsideZip(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create inner zip
+	innerZipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{
+		"deep.txt": "deeply nested content",
+	})
+	innerZipContent, err := os.ReadFile(innerZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Create outer zip containing the inner zip
+	outerDir := filepath.Join(dir, "outer")
+	require.NoError(t, os.MkdirAll(outerDir, 0o755))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(outerDir, "inner.zip"), innerZipContent, 0o644))
+	require.NoError(t, os.WriteFile(filepath.Join(outerDir, "readme.txt"), []byte("readme"), 0o644))
+	outerZipPath := createTestZip(t, outerDir, map[string]string{
+		"inner.zip": string(innerZipContent),
+		"readme.txt": "readme",
+	})
+	outerZipContent, err := os.ReadFile(outerZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/outer.zip": string(outerZipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 3
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Round 1: extract outer.zip
+	count1 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, count1, "should extract outer.zip")
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+
+	// Round 2: extract inner.zip found inside outer.zip
+	count2 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, count2, "should extract inner.zip from within outer.zip")
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+
+	// Round 3: no more archives to extract
+	count3 := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 2)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, count3, "no more archives to extract")
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_ContextCancellation(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel() // cancel immediately
+
+	// should handle gracefully without hanging
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.True(t, newCount >= 0) // may be 0 or 1 depending on timing
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_MultipleArchivesSameLevel(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zip1Path := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"file1.txt": "from zip1"})
+	zip1Content, err := os.ReadFile(zip1Path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	// Need a different dir to avoid overwriting test.zip
+	dir2 := t.TempDir()
+	zip2Path := createTestZip(t, dir2, map[string]string{"file2.txt": "from zip2"})
+	zip2Content, err := os.ReadFile(zip2Path)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/archive1.zip": string(zip1Content),
+		"/archive2.zip": string(zip2Content),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, newCount, "should extract both archives")
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, orch.Resolver().ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_CorruptArchiveSkipped(t *testing.T) {
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// A file with .zip extension but invalid content
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/corrupt.zip": "this is not a valid zip file",
+		"/normal.txt":  "just text",
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Should not panic or error out; corrupt archives should be skipped
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount, "corrupt archive should be skipped")
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_EmptyArchive(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create an empty zip
+	emptyZipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{})
+	emptyZipContent, err := os.ReadFile(emptyZipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/empty.zip": string(emptyZipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount, "empty archive should not count as extracted")
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_PerArchiveFileLimitApplied(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	// Create a zip with many files
+	files := map[string]string{}
+	for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
+		files[filepath.Join("dir", string(rune('a'+i))+".txt")] = "content"
+	}
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, files)
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/big.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+	cfg.MaxFileCount = 3 // only allow 3 files to be extracted
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	// Should partially extract but still register the archive
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	// Extraction will fail after 3 files, but partial extraction counts
+	assert.True(t, newCount >= 0)
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_RelationshipsHaveArchiveCoordinates(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"file.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/archive.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = true
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+	orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+
+	rels := orch.Relationships()
+	require.Len(t, rels, 1)
+
+	// verify the relationship structure
+	rel := rels[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "contains", string(rel.Type))
+
+	// From should be the archive's coordinates
+	fromCoords, ok := rel.From.(file.Coordinates)
+	require.True(t, ok)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/archive.zip", fromCoords.RealPath)
+}
+
+func TestOrchestrator_ZipDisabledByConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	dir := t.TempDir()
+	tmpDir := t.TempDir()
+	ctx := context.Background()
+
+	zipPath := createTestZip(t, dir, map[string]string{"inner.txt": "data"})
+	zipContent, err := os.ReadFile(zipPath)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/test.zip": string(zipContent),
+	})
+
+	cfg := cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+	cfg.MaxDepth = 1
+	cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives = false // disable zip extraction
+
+	orch := NewOrchestrator(parent, cfg, tmpDir, testResolverFactory)
+	defer orch.Cleanup()
+
+	newCount := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, 0)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, newCount)
+}
diff --git a/internal/archive/resolver.go b/internal/archive/resolver.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..a9baddd85
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/resolver.go
@@ -0,0 +1,274 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"crypto/sha256"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"sync"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
+)
+
+const (
+	// ArchivePathSeparator is used to encode nested archive paths in AccessPath,
+	// matching the convention established by the Java cataloger.
+	ArchivePathSeparator = ":"
+)
+
+// childResolver holds a resolver for an extracted archive along with metadata about the archive.
+type childResolver struct {
+	resolver        file.Resolver
+	archiveLocation file.Location // where the archive file lives in the parent resolver
+	fsID            string        // unique filesystem ID for this archive
+	depth           int           // nesting depth (0 = base filesystem)
+}
+
+// CompositeResolver implements file.Resolver by compositing a parent resolver with
+// child resolvers created from extracted archive contents. Files from child resolvers
+// appear transparently alongside files from the parent.
+type CompositeResolver struct {
+	parent   file.Resolver
+	children []*childResolver
+	mu       sync.RWMutex
+}
+
+var _ file.Resolver = (*CompositeResolver)(nil)
+
+// NewCompositeResolver creates a new CompositeResolver wrapping the given parent resolver.
+func NewCompositeResolver(parent file.Resolver) *CompositeResolver {
+	return &CompositeResolver{
+		parent: parent,
+	}
+}
+
+// AddChild registers a child resolver for an extracted archive.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) AddChild(resolver file.Resolver, archiveLocation file.Location, depth int) string {
+	fsID := generateArchiveFSID(archiveLocation)
+	r.mu.Lock()
+	defer r.mu.Unlock()
+	r.children = append(r.children, &childResolver{
+		resolver:        resolver,
+		archiveLocation: archiveLocation,
+		fsID:            fsID,
+		depth:           depth,
+	})
+	return fsID
+}
+
+// ChildCount returns the number of child resolvers registered.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) ChildCount() int {
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	return len(r.children)
+}
+
+// HasPath checks if the path exists in the parent or any child resolver.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) HasPath(path string) bool {
+	if r.parent.HasPath(path) {
+		return true
+	}
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		if child.resolver.HasPath(path) {
+			return true
+		}
+	}
+	return false
+}
+
+// FilesByPath returns locations from the parent and all child resolvers.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) FilesByPath(paths ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	var results []file.Location
+
+	parentLocs, err := r.parent.FilesByPath(paths...)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	results = append(results, parentLocs...)
+
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		childLocs, err := child.resolver.FilesByPath(paths...)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, loc := range childLocs {
+			results = append(results, r.transformLocation(loc, child))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return results, nil
+}
+
+// FilesByGlob returns locations from the parent and all child resolvers.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) FilesByGlob(patterns ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	var results []file.Location
+
+	parentLocs, err := r.parent.FilesByGlob(patterns...)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	results = append(results, parentLocs...)
+
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		childLocs, err := child.resolver.FilesByGlob(patterns...)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, loc := range childLocs {
+			results = append(results, r.transformLocation(loc, child))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return results, nil
+}
+
+// FilesByMIMEType returns locations from the parent and all child resolvers.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) FilesByMIMEType(types ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	var results []file.Location
+
+	parentLocs, err := r.parent.FilesByMIMEType(types...)
+	if err != nil {
+		return nil, err
+	}
+	results = append(results, parentLocs...)
+
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		childLocs, err := child.resolver.FilesByMIMEType(types...)
+		if err != nil {
+			continue
+		}
+		for _, loc := range childLocs {
+			results = append(results, r.transformLocation(loc, child))
+		}
+	}
+
+	return results, nil
+}
+
+// RelativeFileByPath looks up a file relative to a given location.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) RelativeFileByPath(location file.Location, path string) *file.Location {
+	// try parent first
+	if loc := r.parent.RelativeFileByPath(location, path); loc != nil {
+		return loc
+	}
+
+	// try children - match on the archive's FSID
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		if location.FileSystemID == child.fsID {
+			if loc := child.resolver.RelativeFileByPath(location, path); loc != nil {
+				transformed := r.transformLocation(*loc, child)
+				return &transformed
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+// FileContentsByLocation routes to the appropriate resolver based on FileSystemID.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) FileContentsByLocation(location file.Location) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	// check if this location belongs to a child resolver
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		if location.FileSystemID == child.fsID {
+			// look up the file by path in the child resolver to get a location with
+			// a valid internal reference (needed by directory resolvers that use
+			// stereoscope file references for content lookup)
+			childLocs, err := child.resolver.FilesByPath(location.RealPath)
+			if err != nil || len(childLocs) == 0 {
+				// fallback: try with a constructed location
+				childLoc := file.NewLocation(location.RealPath)
+				return child.resolver.FileContentsByLocation(childLoc)
+			}
+			return child.resolver.FileContentsByLocation(childLocs[0])
+		}
+	}
+
+	// fall through to parent
+	return r.parent.FileContentsByLocation(location)
+}
+
+// AllLocations returns locations from the parent and all child resolvers.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) AllLocations(ctx context.Context) <-chan file.Location {
+	results := make(chan file.Location)
+	go func() {
+		defer close(results)
+
+		// parent locations
+		for loc := range r.parent.AllLocations(ctx) {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case results <- loc:
+			}
+		}
+
+		// child locations
+		r.mu.RLock()
+		children := make([]*childResolver, len(r.children))
+		copy(children, r.children)
+		r.mu.RUnlock()
+
+		for _, child := range children {
+			for loc := range child.resolver.AllLocations(ctx) {
+				transformed := r.transformLocation(loc, child)
+				select {
+				case <-ctx.Done():
+					return
+				case results <- transformed:
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+	return results
+}
+
+// FileMetadataByLocation routes to the appropriate resolver based on FileSystemID.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) FileMetadataByLocation(location file.Location) (file.Metadata, error) {
+	r.mu.RLock()
+	defer r.mu.RUnlock()
+	for _, child := range r.children {
+		if location.FileSystemID == child.fsID {
+			childLocs, err := child.resolver.FilesByPath(location.RealPath)
+			if err != nil || len(childLocs) == 0 {
+				childLoc := file.NewLocation(location.RealPath)
+				return child.resolver.FileMetadataByLocation(childLoc)
+			}
+			return child.resolver.FileMetadataByLocation(childLocs[0])
+		}
+	}
+	return r.parent.FileMetadataByLocation(location)
+}
+
+// transformLocation transforms a location from a child resolver to include the archive context.
+func (r *CompositeResolver) transformLocation(loc file.Location, child *childResolver) file.Location {
+	archivePath := child.archiveLocation.Path()
+	return file.Location{
+		LocationData: file.LocationData{
+			Coordinates: file.Coordinates{
+				RealPath:     loc.RealPath,
+				FileSystemID: child.fsID,
+			},
+			AccessPath: archivePath + ArchivePathSeparator + loc.Path(),
+		},
+		LocationMetadata: loc.LocationMetadata,
+	}
+}
+
+// generateArchiveFSID creates a deterministic filesystem ID for an archive based on its location.
+func generateArchiveFSID(archiveLocation file.Location) string {
+	h := sha256.New()
+	h.Write([]byte(archiveLocation.RealPath))
+	h.Write([]byte(archiveLocation.FileSystemID))
+	return fmt.Sprintf("archive:%x", h.Sum(nil)[:12])
+}
diff --git a/internal/archive/resolver_test.go b/internal/archive/resolver_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..05bf40bb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/internal/archive/resolver_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,584 @@
+package archive
+
+import (
+	"context"
+	"fmt"
+	"io"
+	"os"
+	"path/filepath"
+	"strings"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
+)
+
+// mockResolver implements file.Resolver for testing.
+type mockResolver struct {
+	locations map[string]file.Location // path -> location
+	contents  map[string]string        // realPath -> content
+}
+
+func newMockResolver(files map[string]string) *mockResolver {
+	r := &mockResolver{
+		locations: make(map[string]file.Location),
+		contents:  files,
+	}
+	for path := range files {
+		r.locations[path] = file.NewLocation(path)
+	}
+	return r
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) HasPath(path string) bool {
+	_, ok := m.locations[path]
+	return ok
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) FilesByPath(paths ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	var results []file.Location
+	for _, p := range paths {
+		if loc, ok := m.locations[p]; ok {
+			results = append(results, loc)
+		}
+	}
+	return results, nil
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) FilesByGlob(patterns ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	var results []file.Location
+	for _, pattern := range patterns {
+		for path, loc := range m.locations {
+			matched, _ := filepath.Match(pattern, path)
+			if matched {
+				results = append(results, loc)
+			}
+			// also try with the basename for simple glob patterns
+			if !matched {
+				matched, _ = filepath.Match(pattern, filepath.Base(path))
+				if matched {
+					results = append(results, loc)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	return results, nil
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) FilesByMIMEType(_ ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	return nil, nil
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) RelativeFileByPath(_ file.Location, path string) *file.Location {
+	if loc, ok := m.locations[path]; ok {
+		return &loc
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) FileContentsByLocation(location file.Location) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	if content, ok := m.contents[location.RealPath]; ok {
+		return io.NopCloser(strings.NewReader(content)), nil
+	}
+	return nil, os.ErrNotExist
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) AllLocations(ctx context.Context) <-chan file.Location {
+	ch := make(chan file.Location)
+	go func() {
+		defer close(ch)
+		for _, loc := range m.locations {
+			select {
+			case <-ctx.Done():
+				return
+			case ch <- loc:
+			}
+		}
+	}()
+	return ch
+}
+
+func (m *mockResolver) FileMetadataByLocation(_ file.Location) (file.Metadata, error) {
+	return file.Metadata{}, nil
+}
+
+// strictMockResolver mimics real directory resolvers (fileresolver.Directory) which
+// require that FileContentsByLocation receives a location object that was originally
+// returned by FilesByPath/FilesByGlob — not a freshly constructed file.NewLocation().
+// Real directory resolvers need the internal stereoscope file.Reference for index lookup.
+// We simulate this by annotating returned locations and only accepting those back.
+type strictMockResolver struct {
+	mockResolver
+	resolvedAnnotation string // annotation key that marks locations as "resolved"
+}
+
+func newStrictMockResolver(files map[string]string) *strictMockResolver {
+	return &strictMockResolver{
+		mockResolver:       *newMockResolver(files),
+		resolvedAnnotation: "strict-resolved",
+	}
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) annotate(loc file.Location) file.Location {
+	return loc.WithAnnotation(s.resolvedAnnotation, "true")
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) isResolved(loc file.Location) bool {
+	return loc.Annotations[s.resolvedAnnotation] == "true"
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) FilesByPath(paths ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	locs, err := s.mockResolver.FilesByPath(paths...)
+	for i := range locs {
+		locs[i] = s.annotate(locs[i])
+	}
+	return locs, err
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) FilesByGlob(patterns ...string) ([]file.Location, error) {
+	locs, err := s.mockResolver.FilesByGlob(patterns...)
+	for i := range locs {
+		locs[i] = s.annotate(locs[i])
+	}
+	return locs, err
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) FileContentsByLocation(location file.Location) (io.ReadCloser, error) {
+	if !s.isResolved(location) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("location %q was not resolved via FilesByPath/FilesByGlob first (simulating real directory resolver behavior)", location.RealPath)
+	}
+	return s.mockResolver.FileContentsByLocation(location)
+}
+
+func (s *strictMockResolver) FileMetadataByLocation(location file.Location) (file.Metadata, error) {
+	if !s.isResolved(location) {
+		return file.Metadata{}, fmt.Errorf("location %q was not resolved via FilesByPath/FilesByGlob first", location.RealPath)
+	}
+	return s.mockResolver.FileMetadataByLocation(location)
+}
+
+// TestCompositeResolver_FileContentsByLocation_ChildRequiresLookup tests that
+// FileContentsByLocation works when the child resolver requires locations to be
+// resolved via FilesByPath first (as real directory resolvers do). This catches
+// the bug where we constructed a bare file.NewLocation() without a valid internal
+// reference, which fails on real fileresolver.Directory implementations.
+func TestCompositeResolver_FileContentsByLocation_ChildRequiresLookup(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{})
+	child := newStrictMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/lib/data.txt": "important data",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	fsID := composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	// Simulate what a cataloger does: find the file, then read its content.
+	// The location returned has the archive's fsID, not the child's internal ref.
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/lib/data.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID, locs[0].FileSystemID)
+
+	// Now read content - this must work even though the location was transformed
+	reader, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err, "FileContentsByLocation should resolve the file in the child resolver via FilesByPath before reading")
+	defer reader.Close()
+
+	content, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "important data", string(content))
+}
+
+// TestCompositeResolver_FileMetadataByLocation_ChildRequiresLookup is the same
+// test as above but for FileMetadataByLocation.
+func TestCompositeResolver_FileMetadataByLocation_ChildRequiresLookup(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{})
+	child := newStrictMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/lib/data.txt": "important data",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	fsID := composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/lib/data.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID, locs[0].FileSystemID)
+
+	// FileMetadataByLocation must also resolve via FilesByPath first
+	_, err = composite.FileMetadataByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err, "FileMetadataByLocation should resolve the file in the child resolver via FilesByPath before reading metadata")
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_FilesByPath_ParentOnly(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/parent.txt": "parent content",
+	})
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/parent.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/parent.txt", locs[0].RealPath)
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_FilesByPath_WithChild(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/parent.txt": "parent content",
+	})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/child.txt": "child content",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.tar.gz")
+	composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/child.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "archive.tar.gz:")
+	assert.Contains(t, locs[0].AccessPath, "child.txt")
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_FileContentsByLocation_Parent(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/parent.txt": "parent content",
+	})
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/parent.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+
+	reader, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+
+	content, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "parent content", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_FileContentsByLocation_Child(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/child.txt": "child content",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	fsID := composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	// construct a location as returned by FilesByPath
+	loc := file.Location{
+		LocationData: file.LocationData{
+			Coordinates: file.Coordinates{
+				RealPath:     "/child.txt",
+				FileSystemID: fsID,
+			},
+			AccessPath: "/archive.zip:/child.txt",
+		},
+	}
+
+	reader, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(loc)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+
+	content, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "child content", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_HasPath(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/parent.txt": "p",
+	})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/child.txt": "c",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	assert.True(t, composite.HasPath("/parent.txt"))
+	assert.True(t, composite.HasPath("/child.txt"))
+	assert.False(t, composite.HasPath("/nonexistent.txt"))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_AllLocations(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/parent.txt": "p",
+	})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/child.txt": "c",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	var allLocs []file.Location
+	for loc := range composite.AllLocations(ctx) {
+		allLocs = append(allLocs, loc)
+	}
+
+	assert.Len(t, allLocs, 2)
+
+	hasArchivePrefix := false
+	for _, loc := range allLocs {
+		if strings.Contains(loc.AccessPath, "archive.zip:") {
+			hasArchivePrefix = true
+			break
+		}
+	}
+	assert.True(t, hasArchivePrefix)
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_ChildCount(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{})
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	assert.Equal(t, 0, composite.ChildCount())
+
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{"/a.txt": "a"})
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/archive.zip")
+	composite.AddChild(child, archiveLoc, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, 1, composite.ChildCount())
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_TransformLocation(t *testing.T) {
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(nil)
+
+	archiveLoc := file.NewLocation("/path/to/archive.tar.gz")
+	child := &childResolver{
+		archiveLocation: archiveLoc,
+		fsID:            "archive:abc123",
+		depth:           1,
+	}
+
+	loc := file.NewLocation("/inner/file.txt")
+	transformed := composite.transformLocation(loc, child)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, "/inner/file.txt", transformed.RealPath)
+	assert.Equal(t, "archive:abc123", transformed.FileSystemID)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/path/to/archive.tar.gz:/inner/file.txt", transformed.AccessPath)
+}
+
+func TestGenerateArchiveFSID(t *testing.T) {
+	loc1 := file.NewLocation("/archive1.zip")
+	loc2 := file.NewLocation("/archive2.zip")
+
+	fsID1 := generateArchiveFSID(loc1)
+	fsID2 := generateArchiveFSID(loc2)
+
+	assert.NotEqual(t, fsID1, fsID2)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID1, generateArchiveFSID(loc1))
+	assert.True(t, strings.HasPrefix(fsID1, "archive:"))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_MultipleChildren(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/base.txt": "base",
+	})
+	child1 := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/lib.so": "library1",
+	})
+	child2 := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/lib.so": "library2",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	composite.AddChild(child1, file.NewLocation("/archive1.zip"), 1)
+	composite.AddChild(child2, file.NewLocation("/archive2.zip"), 1)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, composite.ChildCount())
+
+	// searching for /lib.so should find it in both children
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/lib.so")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, locs, 2)
+
+	// each should have different archive prefixes
+	var accessPaths []string
+	for _, loc := range locs {
+		accessPaths = append(accessPaths, loc.AccessPath)
+	}
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPaths[0], "archive1.zip:")
+	assert.Contains(t, accessPaths[1], "archive2.zip:")
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_NestedChildren_ChildInChild(t *testing.T) {
+	// Simulates: base filesystem -> archive1.tar.gz -> archive2.zip -> inner file
+	// In practice the orchestrator adds children at different depths, but the resolver
+	// itself just has a flat list of children. The nesting is encoded in the AccessPath.
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/base.txt": "base",
+	})
+
+	// First level: contents of archive1.tar.gz
+	child1 := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/inner-archive.zip": "zipdata", // this is an archive inside archive1
+		"/readme.txt":        "readme from archive1",
+	})
+
+	// Second level: contents of inner-archive.zip (which was inside archive1.tar.gz)
+	child2 := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/deep-file.txt": "deeply nested content",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+
+	// Add child1 as extracted from archive1.tar.gz (depth 1)
+	archive1Loc := file.NewLocation("/archive1.tar.gz")
+	fsID1 := composite.AddChild(child1, archive1Loc, 1)
+
+	// Add child2 as extracted from inner-archive.zip which was in archive1 (depth 2)
+	// The archive location for child2 refers to the inner-archive.zip as it appears in child1
+	innerArchiveLoc := file.Location{
+		LocationData: file.LocationData{
+			Coordinates: file.Coordinates{
+				RealPath:     "/inner-archive.zip",
+				FileSystemID: fsID1,
+			},
+			AccessPath: "/archive1.tar.gz:/inner-archive.zip",
+		},
+	}
+	fsID2 := composite.AddChild(child2, innerArchiveLoc, 2)
+
+	assert.Equal(t, 2, composite.ChildCount())
+	assert.NotEqual(t, fsID1, fsID2)
+
+	// Should find base file
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/base.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/base.txt", locs[0].AccessPath)
+
+	// Should find readme from archive1
+	locs, err = composite.FilesByPath("/readme.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	assert.Equal(t, "/archive1.tar.gz:/readme.txt", locs[0].AccessPath)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID1, locs[0].FileSystemID)
+
+	// Should find deeply nested file
+	locs, err = composite.FilesByPath("/deep-file.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	require.Len(t, locs, 1)
+	// The access path shows the full chain: outer-archive:inner-archive:file
+	assert.Equal(t, "/archive1.tar.gz:/inner-archive.zip:/deep-file.txt", locs[0].AccessPath)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID2, locs[0].FileSystemID)
+
+	// Should be able to read the deeply nested content
+	reader, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(locs[0])
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	defer reader.Close()
+	content, err := io.ReadAll(reader)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Equal(t, "deeply nested content", string(content))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_EmptyChild(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/file.txt": "content",
+	})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	composite.AddChild(child, file.NewLocation("/empty.zip"), 1)
+
+	// should still find parent files
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/file.txt")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	assert.Len(t, locs, 1)
+
+	// no extra locations from empty child
+	ctx := context.Background()
+	var all []file.Location
+	for loc := range composite.AllLocations(ctx) {
+		all = append(all, loc)
+	}
+	assert.Len(t, all, 1)
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_SameFileInParentAndChild(t *testing.T) {
+	// File with the same path exists in both parent and child
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/config.yaml": "parent version",
+	})
+	child := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/config.yaml": "child version",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+	fsID := composite.AddChild(child, file.NewLocation("/archive.zip"), 1)
+
+	locs, err := composite.FilesByPath("/config.yaml")
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	// Should find both versions
+	assert.Len(t, locs, 2)
+
+	// parent version has no archive prefix
+	parentLoc := locs[0]
+	assert.Equal(t, "/config.yaml", parentLoc.AccessPath)
+	assert.Empty(t, parentLoc.FileSystemID)
+
+	// child version has archive prefix
+	childLoc := locs[1]
+	assert.Equal(t, "/archive.zip:/config.yaml", childLoc.AccessPath)
+	assert.Equal(t, fsID, childLoc.FileSystemID)
+
+	// can read both
+	r1, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(parentLoc)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	c1, _ := io.ReadAll(r1)
+	r1.Close()
+	assert.Equal(t, "parent version", string(c1))
+
+	r2, err := composite.FileContentsByLocation(childLoc)
+	require.NoError(t, err)
+	c2, _ := io.ReadAll(r2)
+	r2.Close()
+	assert.Equal(t, "child version", string(c2))
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_AllLocations_ContextCancellation(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/a.txt": "a",
+		"/b.txt": "b",
+		"/c.txt": "c",
+	})
+
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+
+	ctx, cancel := context.WithCancel(context.Background())
+	cancel() // cancel immediately
+
+	var count int
+	for range composite.AllLocations(ctx) {
+		count++
+	}
+	// with cancelled context, we may get 0 or some locations, but shouldn't hang
+	assert.True(t, count <= 3)
+}
+
+func TestCompositeResolver_NoChildren_BehavesLikeParent(t *testing.T) {
+	parent := newMockResolver(map[string]string{
+		"/file.txt": "content",
+	})
+	composite := NewCompositeResolver(parent)
+
+	// FilesByPath
+	parentLocs, _ := parent.FilesByPath("/file.txt")
+	compositeLocs, _ := composite.FilesByPath("/file.txt")
+	assert.Equal(t, len(parentLocs), len(compositeLocs))
+
+	// HasPath
+	assert.Equal(t, parent.HasPath("/file.txt"), composite.HasPath("/file.txt"))
+	assert.Equal(t, parent.HasPath("/nope"), composite.HasPath("/nope"))
+}
diff --git a/syft/cataloging/archive_search.go b/syft/cataloging/archive_search.go
index 56dff6cc6..464913909 100644
--- a/syft/cataloging/archive_search.go
+++ b/syft/cataloging/archive_search.go
@@ -1,17 +1,43 @@
 package cataloging
 
+const (
+	DefaultArchiveMaxDepth                = 0                 // disabled by default for backwards compatibility
+	DefaultArchiveMaxExtractionSizeBytes  = 500 * 1024 * 1024 // 500 MB per archive
+	DefaultArchiveMaxFileCount            = 10000
+	DefaultArchiveMaxTotalExtractionBytes = 2 * 1024 * 1024 * 1024 // 2 GB total
+)
+
 type ArchiveSearchConfig struct {
 	// IncludeIndexedArchives indicates whether to search within indexed archive files (e.g., .zip).
 	IncludeIndexedArchives bool `yaml:"include-indexed-archives" json:"include-indexed-archives" mapstructure:"include-indexed-archives"`
 
 	// IncludeUnindexedArchives indicates whether to search within unindexed archive files (e.g., .tar*).
 	IncludeUnindexedArchives bool `yaml:"include-unindexed-archives" json:"include-unindexed-archives" mapstructure:"include-unindexed-archives"`
+
+	// MaxDepth is the maximum depth of recursive archive extraction (0 = disabled, no recursive extraction).
+	MaxDepth int `yaml:"max-depth" json:"max-depth" mapstructure:"max-depth"`
+
+	// MaxExtractionSizeBytes is the maximum total bytes to extract from a single archive before stopping.
+	MaxExtractionSizeBytes int64 `yaml:"max-extraction-size-bytes" json:"max-extraction-size-bytes" mapstructure:"max-extraction-size-bytes"`
+
+	// MaxFileCount is the maximum number of files to extract from a single archive before stopping.
+	MaxFileCount int `yaml:"max-file-count" json:"max-file-count" mapstructure:"max-file-count"`
+
+	// MaxTotalExtractionBytes is the maximum total bytes to extract across all archives before stopping.
+	MaxTotalExtractionBytes int64 `yaml:"max-total-extraction-bytes" json:"max-total-extraction-bytes" mapstructure:"max-total-extraction-bytes"`
+
+	// ExcludeExtensions is a list of archive extensions to skip during recursive extraction (e.g., [".rpm"]).
+	ExcludeExtensions []string `yaml:"exclude-extensions" json:"exclude-extensions" mapstructure:"exclude-extensions"`
 }
 
 func DefaultArchiveSearchConfig() ArchiveSearchConfig {
 	return ArchiveSearchConfig{
 		IncludeIndexedArchives:   true,
 		IncludeUnindexedArchives: false,
+		MaxDepth:                 DefaultArchiveMaxDepth,
+		MaxExtractionSizeBytes:   DefaultArchiveMaxExtractionSizeBytes,
+		MaxFileCount:             DefaultArchiveMaxFileCount,
+		MaxTotalExtractionBytes:  DefaultArchiveMaxTotalExtractionBytes,
 	}
 }
 
@@ -24,3 +50,28 @@ func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithIncludeUnindexedArchives(include bool) ArchiveS
 	c.IncludeUnindexedArchives = include
 	return c
 }
+
+func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithMaxDepth(depth int) ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	c.MaxDepth = depth
+	return c
+}
+
+func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithMaxExtractionSizeBytes(size int64) ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	c.MaxExtractionSizeBytes = size
+	return c
+}
+
+func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithMaxFileCount(count int) ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	c.MaxFileCount = count
+	return c
+}
+
+func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithMaxTotalExtractionBytes(size int64) ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	c.MaxTotalExtractionBytes = size
+	return c
+}
+
+func (c ArchiveSearchConfig) WithExcludeExtensions(extensions []string) ArchiveSearchConfig {
+	c.ExcludeExtensions = extensions
+	return c
+}
diff --git a/syft/cataloging/archive_search_test.go b/syft/cataloging/archive_search_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..f15e76b34
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/cataloging/archive_search_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+package cataloging
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/assert"
+)
+
+func TestDefaultArchiveSearchConfig(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+
+	assert.True(t, cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives)
+	assert.False(t, cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives)
+	assert.Equal(t, DefaultArchiveMaxDepth, cfg.MaxDepth)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(DefaultArchiveMaxExtractionSizeBytes), cfg.MaxExtractionSizeBytes)
+	assert.Equal(t, DefaultArchiveMaxFileCount, cfg.MaxFileCount)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(DefaultArchiveMaxTotalExtractionBytes), cfg.MaxTotalExtractionBytes)
+	assert.Nil(t, cfg.ExcludeExtensions)
+}
+
+func TestArchiveSearchConfig_WithMethods(t *testing.T) {
+	cfg := DefaultArchiveSearchConfig()
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithMaxDepth(5)
+	assert.Equal(t, 5, cfg.MaxDepth)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithMaxExtractionSizeBytes(1024)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(1024), cfg.MaxExtractionSizeBytes)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithMaxFileCount(100)
+	assert.Equal(t, 100, cfg.MaxFileCount)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithMaxTotalExtractionBytes(2048)
+	assert.Equal(t, int64(2048), cfg.MaxTotalExtractionBytes)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithExcludeExtensions([]string{".rpm", ".deb"})
+	assert.Equal(t, []string{".rpm", ".deb"}, cfg.ExcludeExtensions)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithIncludeIndexedArchives(false)
+	assert.False(t, cfg.IncludeIndexedArchives)
+
+	cfg = cfg.WithIncludeUnindexedArchives(true)
+	assert.True(t, cfg.IncludeUnindexedArchives)
+}
diff --git a/syft/configuration_audit_trail.go b/syft/configuration_audit_trail.go
index aa7a51f4d..b63eb9be4 100644
--- a/syft/configuration_audit_trail.go
+++ b/syft/configuration_audit_trail.go
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ type configurationAuditTrail struct {
 	Packages       pkgcataloging.Config            `json:"packages" yaml:"packages" mapstructure:"packages"`
 	Files          filecataloging.Config           `json:"files" yaml:"files" mapstructure:"files"`
 	Licenses       cataloging.LicenseConfig        `json:"licenses" yaml:"licenses" mapstructure:"licenses"`
+	Archive        cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig  `json:"archive" yaml:"archive" mapstructure:"archive"`
 	Catalogers     catalogerManifest               `json:"catalogers" yaml:"catalogers" mapstructure:"catalogers"`
 	ExtraConfigs   any                             `json:"extra,omitempty" yaml:"extra" mapstructure:"extra"`
 }
diff --git a/syft/create_sbom.go b/syft/create_sbom.go
index 817e698c6..ff4e1dc4b 100644
--- a/syft/create_sbom.go
+++ b/syft/create_sbom.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/scylladb/go-set/strset"
 
 	"github.com/anchore/go-sync"
+	intArchive "github.com/anchore/syft/internal/archive"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/bus"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/licenses"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal/log"
@@ -19,9 +20,12 @@ import (
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/artifact"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/cataloging"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/event/monitor"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/file"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/internal/fileresolver"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/pkg"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/sbom"
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/source"
+	"github.com/anchore/syft/syft/source/directorysource"
 )
 
 // CreateSBOM creates a software bill-of-materials from the given source. If the CreateSBOMConfig is nil, then
@@ -60,6 +64,7 @@ func CreateSBOM(ctx context.Context, src source.Source, cfg *CreateSBOMConfig) (
 				Packages:       cfg.Packages,
 				Files:          cfg.Files,
 				Licenses:       cfg.Licenses,
+				Archive:        cfg.Archive,
 				Catalogers:     *audit,
 				ExtraConfigs:   cfg.ToolConfiguration,
 			},
@@ -92,9 +97,17 @@ func CreateSBOM(ctx context.Context, src source.Source, cfg *CreateSBOMConfig) (
 	packageCatalogingProgress := monitorPackageCatalogingTask()
 
 	builder := sbomsync.NewBuilder(&s, monitorPackageCount(packageCatalogingProgress))
+
+	// determine the effective resolver: if recursive archive extraction is enabled,
+	// wrap the resolver with the archive orchestrator
+	effectiveResolver, archiveCleanup, archiveRelationships := setupArchiveOrchestration(ctx, resolver, cfg)
+	if archiveCleanup != nil {
+		defer archiveCleanup()
+	}
+
 	for i := range taskGroups {
 		err = sync.Collect(&ctx, cataloging.ExecutorFile, sync.ToSeq(taskGroups[i]), func(t task.Task) (any, error) {
-			return nil, task.RunTask(ctx, t, resolver, builder, catalogingProgress)
+			return nil, task.RunTask(ctx, t, effectiveResolver, builder, catalogingProgress)
 		}, nil)
 		if err != nil {
 			// TODO: tie this to the open progress monitors...
@@ -102,12 +115,66 @@ func CreateSBOM(ctx context.Context, src source.Source, cfg *CreateSBOMConfig) (
 		}
 	}
 
+	// add archive containment relationships to the SBOM
+	if len(archiveRelationships) > 0 {
+		builder.AddRelationships(archiveRelationships...)
+	}
+
 	packageCatalogingProgress.SetCompleted()
 	catalogingProgress.SetCompleted()
 
 	return &s, nil
 }
 
+// setupArchiveOrchestration wraps the resolver with an archive orchestrator when recursive
+// archive extraction is enabled (MaxDepth > 0). It performs the iterative extract loop
+// and returns the effective resolver, a cleanup function, and any archive relationships.
+func setupArchiveOrchestration(ctx context.Context, baseResolver file.Resolver, cfg *CreateSBOMConfig) (file.Resolver, func(), []artifact.Relationship) {
+	if cfg.Archive.MaxDepth <= 0 {
+		return baseResolver, nil, nil
+	}
+
+	td := tmpdir.FromContext(ctx)
+	if td == nil {
+		log.Warn("archive orchestration requested but no temp dir available")
+		return baseResolver, nil, nil
+	}
+
+	archiveTmpDir, archiveTmpCleanup, err := td.NewChild("archive-extraction") //nolint:gocritic // cleanup is returned to caller, not deferred here
+	if err != nil {
+		log.WithFields("error", err).Warn("unable to create temp dir for archive extraction")
+		return baseResolver, nil, nil
+	}
+
+	// build user-exclusion path filters once and reuse them for every child
+	// resolver, so that --exclude patterns also apply inside extracted archives
+	resolverFactory := func(root string) (file.Resolver, error) {
+		filters, err := directorysource.GetDirectoryExclusionFunctions(root, append([]string(nil), cfg.Exclusions...))
+		if err != nil {
+			return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid exclusion patterns for archive child resolver: %w", err)
+		}
+		return fileresolver.NewFromDirectory(root, "", filters...)
+	}
+
+	orch := intArchive.NewOrchestrator(baseResolver, cfg.Archive, archiveTmpDir, resolverFactory)
+
+	// iteratively discover and extract archives up to the configured max depth
+	for depth := 0; depth < cfg.Archive.MaxDepth; depth++ {
+		newArchives := orch.DiscoverAndExtract(ctx, depth)
+		if newArchives == 0 {
+			break
+		}
+		log.WithFields("depth", depth+1, "archives", newArchives).Debug("extracted archives for recursive cataloging")
+	}
+
+	cleanup := func() {
+		orch.Cleanup()
+		archiveTmpCleanup()
+	}
+
+	return orch.Resolver(), cleanup, orch.Relationships()
+}
+
 func setupContext(ctx context.Context, cfg *CreateSBOMConfig) (context.Context, error) {
 	// configure parallel executors
 	ctx = setContextExecutors(ctx, cfg)
diff --git a/syft/create_sbom_config.go b/syft/create_sbom_config.go
index 1a84c14b6..f08c914de 100644
--- a/syft/create_sbom_config.go
+++ b/syft/create_sbom_config.go
@@ -28,9 +28,16 @@ type CreateSBOMConfig struct {
 	Packages           pkgcataloging.Config
 	Licenses           cataloging.LicenseConfig
 	Files              filecataloging.Config
+	Archive            cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig
 	Parallelism        int
 	CatalogerSelection cataloging.SelectionRequest
 
+	// Exclusions are user-provided glob patterns that the source resolver already
+	// applies; they are also propagated into child resolvers built during recursive
+	// archive extraction so that a "--exclude=**/foo" pattern keeps working inside
+	// extracted archive contents.
+	Exclusions []string
+
 	// audit what tool is being used to generate the SBOM
 	ToolName          string
 	ToolVersion       string
@@ -49,6 +56,7 @@ func DefaultCreateSBOMConfig() *CreateSBOMConfig {
 		Packages:             pkgcataloging.DefaultConfig(),
 		Licenses:             cataloging.DefaultLicenseConfig(),
 		Files:                filecataloging.DefaultConfig(),
+		Archive:              cataloging.DefaultArchiveSearchConfig(),
 		Parallelism:          0, // use default: run in parallel based on number of CPUs
 		packageTaskFactories: task.DefaultPackageTaskFactories(),
 
@@ -153,6 +161,20 @@ func (c *CreateSBOMConfig) WithoutFiles() *CreateSBOMConfig {
 	return c
 }
 
+// WithArchiveConfig allows for defining archive extraction and recursive cataloging parameters.
+func (c *CreateSBOMConfig) WithArchiveConfig(cfg cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig) *CreateSBOMConfig {
+	c.Archive = cfg
+	return c
+}
+
+// WithExclusions sets the glob patterns that should be propagated to child resolvers
+// constructed during recursive archive extraction. Patterns must follow the same
+// "./", "*/", or "**/"-prefix convention as the syft --exclude flag.
+func (c *CreateSBOMConfig) WithExclusions(exclusions []string) *CreateSBOMConfig {
+	c.Exclusions = exclusions
+	return c
+}
+
 // WithCatalogerSelection allows for adding to, removing from, or sub-selecting the final set of catalogers by name or tag.
 func (c *CreateSBOMConfig) WithCatalogerSelection(selection cataloging.SelectionRequest) *CreateSBOMConfig {
 	c.CatalogerSelection = selection
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml.go
index 572dfed8e..357b426a6 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package java
 import (
 	"context"
 	"errors"
+	"path/filepath"
 	"strings"
 
 	"github.com/anchore/syft/internal"
@@ -40,6 +41,9 @@ func (p pomXMLCataloger) Catalog(ctx context.Context, fileResolver file.Resolver
 	var poms []*maven.Project
 	pomLocations := map[*maven.Project]file.Location{}
 	for _, pomLocation := range locations {
+		if isArchiveMetaPom(pomLocation) {
+			continue
+		}
 		pom, err := readPomFromLocation(fileResolver, pomLocation)
 		if err != nil || pom == nil {
 			log.WithFields("error", err, "pomLocation", pomLocation).Debug("error while reading pom")
@@ -299,6 +303,20 @@ func pomParent(ctx context.Context, r *maven.Resolver, pom *maven.Project) *pkg.
 	}
 }
 
+// isArchiveMetaPom returns true if the pom.xml location is inside a META-INF/maven directory,
+// indicating it is archive metadata embedded by the Maven build process rather than a project
+// pom.xml. These embedded pom.xml files are verbatim copies of the original build POM with
+// potentially unresolved ${property} references and dependency versions inherited from parent
+// POMs that are not available inside the archive. The java-archive-cataloger already uses
+// pom.properties (which always contains resolved values) to identify these archives, so the
+// pom cataloger should skip them to avoid creating phantom dependency packages.
+func isArchiveMetaPom(location file.Location) bool {
+	p := location.Path()
+	// normalize to forward slashes for consistent matching
+	p = filepath.ToSlash(p)
+	return strings.Contains(p, "META-INF/maven/")
+}
+
 func cleanDescription(original string) (cleaned string) {
 	descriptionLines := strings.Split(original, "\n")
 	for _, line := range descriptionLines {
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml_test.go b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml_test.go
index 44dc5da05..94fde2542 100644
--- a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml_test.go
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/parse_pom_xml_test.go
@@ -690,6 +690,123 @@ func getCommonsTextExpectedPackages(resolved bool) expected {
 	return expected{pkgs, relationships}
 }
 
+func Test_isArchiveMetaPom(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		path     string
+		expected bool
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "META-INF maven pom",
+			path:     "META-INF/maven/com.example/my-lib/pom.xml",
+			expected: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "nested META-INF maven pom",
+			path:     "some/path/META-INF/maven/org.apache/commons/pom.xml",
+			expected: true,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "project pom.xml",
+			path:     "pom.xml",
+			expected: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "module pom.xml",
+			path:     "submodule/pom.xml",
+			expected: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "META-INF but not maven",
+			path:     "META-INF/pom.xml",
+			expected: false,
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		t.Run(test.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			loc := file.NewLocation(test.path)
+			assert.Equal(t, test.expected, isArchiveMetaPom(loc))
+		})
+	}
+}
+
+func Test_pomCatalogerSkipsMetaInfPoms(t *testing.T) {
+	// A directory that only contains a pom.xml under META-INF/maven/ should produce
+	// no packages, since these are archive metadata not project files.
+	cat := NewPomCataloger(ArchiveCatalogerConfig{
+		ArchiveSearchConfig: cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig{
+			IncludeIndexedArchives:   true,
+			IncludeUnindexedArchives: true,
+		},
+	})
+
+	pkgtest.NewCatalogTester().
+		FromDirectory(t, "testdata/pom/meta-inf-archive").
+		Expects(nil, nil).
+		TestCataloger(t, cat)
+}
+
+func Test_pomCatalogerSkipsMetaInfButKeepsProjectPom(t *testing.T) {
+	// When a directory contains both a project pom.xml and a META-INF/maven pom.xml,
+	// only the project pom.xml should be cataloged. The META-INF pom.xml and its
+	// dependencies should be ignored.
+	pomLocation := file.NewLocationSet(file.NewLocation("pom.xml"))
+
+	myApp := pkg.Package{
+		Name:      "my-app",
+		Version:   "2.0.0",
+		PURL:      "pkg:maven/org.anchore/my-app@2.0.0",
+		Language:  pkg.Java,
+		Type:      pkg.JavaPkg,
+		FoundBy:   pomCatalogerName,
+		Locations: pomLocation,
+		Metadata: pkg.JavaArchive{
+			PomProject: &pkg.JavaPomProject{
+				GroupID:    "org.anchore",
+				ArtifactID: "my-app",
+				Version:    "2.0.0",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	finalizePackage(&myApp)
+
+	guava := pkg.Package{
+		Name:      "guava",
+		Version:   "31.1-jre",
+		PURL:      "pkg:maven/com.google.guava/guava@31.1-jre",
+		Language:  pkg.Java,
+		Type:      pkg.JavaPkg,
+		FoundBy:   pomCatalogerName,
+		Locations: pomLocation,
+		Metadata: pkg.JavaArchive{
+			PomProperties: &pkg.JavaPomProperties{
+				GroupID:    "com.google.guava",
+				ArtifactID: "guava",
+			},
+		},
+	}
+	finalizePackage(&guava)
+
+	expectedPkgs := []pkg.Package{myApp, guava}
+	expectedRelationships := []artifact.Relationship{
+		{
+			From: guava,
+			To:   myApp,
+			Type: artifact.DependencyOfRelationship,
+		},
+	}
+
+	cat := NewPomCataloger(ArchiveCatalogerConfig{
+		ArchiveSearchConfig: cataloging.ArchiveSearchConfig{
+			IncludeIndexedArchives:   true,
+			IncludeUnindexedArchives: true,
+		},
+	})
+
+	pkgtest.TestCataloger(t, "testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project", cat, expectedPkgs, expectedRelationships)
+}
+
 func expectedTransientPackageData() expected {
 	epl2 := pkg.NewLicenseSet(pkg.License{
 		Value: "Eclipse Public License v2.0",
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/meta-inf-archive/META-INF/maven/com.example/my-lib/pom.xml b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/meta-inf-archive/META-INF/maven/com.example/my-lib/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ff3d28844
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/meta-inf-archive/META-INF/maven/com.example/my-lib/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
+    <artifactId>my-lib</artifactId>
+    <version>1.0.0</version>
+
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.phantom</groupId>
+            <artifactId>phantom-dep</artifactId>
+            <version>${phantom.version}</version>
+        </dependency>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.testonly</groupId>
+            <artifactId>test-dep</artifactId>
+            <version>2.0.0</version>
+            <scope>test</scope>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/META-INF/maven/com.example/embedded-lib/pom.xml b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/META-INF/maven/com.example/embedded-lib/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..cf2ab1b72
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/META-INF/maven/com.example/embedded-lib/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <groupId>com.example</groupId>
+    <artifactId>embedded-lib</artifactId>
+    <version>3.0.0</version>
+
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>org.phantom</groupId>
+            <artifactId>should-not-appear</artifactId>
+            <version>${unresolvable.version}</version>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
+</project>
diff --git a/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/pom.xml b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/pom.xml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..32b8e2426
--- /dev/null
+++ b/syft/pkg/cataloger/java/testdata/pom/mixed-meta-inf-and-project/pom.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,18 @@
+<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
+         xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
+         xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0 https://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
+    <modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
+
+    <groupId>org.anchore</groupId>
+    <artifactId>my-app</artifactId>
+    <version>2.0.0</version>
+
+    <dependencies>
+        <dependency>
+            <groupId>com.google.guava</groupId>
+            <artifactId>guava</artifactId>
+            <version>31.1-jre</version>
+        </dependency>
+    </dependencies>
+</project>