diff --git a/pkg/compliance/spec/compliance.go b/pkg/compliance/spec/compliance.go
index 95ed4ea44177..418480129c81 100644
--- a/pkg/compliance/spec/compliance.go
+++ b/pkg/compliance/spec/compliance.go
@@ -87,7 +87,7 @@ func GetComplianceSpec(specNameOrPath string, c cache.TrivyCache) (ComplianceSpe
 			return ComplianceSpec{}, fmt.Errorf("error retrieving compliance spec from specified path: %w", err)
 		}
 	} else {
-		_, err := os.ReadFile(filepath.Join(c.GetChecksDir(), "metadata.json"))
+		_, err := os.Stat(filepath.Join(c.GetChecksDir(), "metadata.json"))
 		if err != nil { // cache corrupt or bundle does not exist, load embedded version
 			b = []byte(sp.NewSpecLoader().GetSpecByName(specNameOrPath))
 			log.Debug("Compliance spec loaded from embedded library", log.String("spec", specNameOrPath))