diff --git a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
index ee4f8abe3..95505a40b 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader.go
@@ -125,7 +125,8 @@ func (c *ChartDownloader) DownloadTo(ref, version, dest string) (string, *proven
 	var digest32 [32]byte
 	if hash != "" {
 		// if there is a hash, populate the other formats
-		digest, err = hex.DecodeString(hash)
+		// Strip the algorithm prefix (e.g., "sha256:") if present
+		digest, err = hex.DecodeString(stripDigestAlgorithm(hash))
 		if err != nil {
 			return "", nil, err
 		}
@@ -225,7 +226,8 @@ func (c *ChartDownloader) DownloadToCache(ref, version string) (string, *provena
 	c.Options = append(c.Options, getter.WithAcceptHeader("application/gzip,application/octet-stream"))
 
 	// Check the cache for the file
-	digest, err := hex.DecodeString(digestString)
+	// Strip the algorithm prefix (e.g., "sha256:") if present
+	digest, err := hex.DecodeString(stripDigestAlgorithm(digestString))
 	if err != nil {
 		return "", nil, fmt.Errorf("unable to decode digest: %w", err)
 	}
@@ -578,3 +580,12 @@ func loadRepoConfig(file string) (*repo.File, error) {
 	}
 	return r, nil
 }
+
+// stripDigestAlgorithm removes the algorithm prefix (e.g., "sha256:") from a digest string.
+// If no prefix is present, the original string is returned unchanged.
+func stripDigestAlgorithm(digest string) string {
+	if idx := strings.Index(digest, ":"); idx >= 0 {
+		return digest[idx+1:]
+	}
+	return digest
+}
diff --git a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
index 4349ecef9..05cf64e12 100644
--- a/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
+++ b/pkg/downloader/chart_downloader_test.go
@@ -485,3 +485,41 @@ func TestDownloadToCache(t *testing.T) {
 		c.Keyring = ""
 	})
 }
+
+func TestStripDigestAlgorithm(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		name     string
+		input    string
+		expected string
+	}{
+		{
+			name:     "sha256 prefixed digest",
+			input:    "sha256:aef46c66a7f2d5a12a7e3f54a64790daf5c9a9e66af3f46955efdaa6c900341d",
+			expected: "aef46c66a7f2d5a12a7e3f54a64790daf5c9a9e66af3f46955efdaa6c900341d",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "sha512 prefixed digest",
+			input:    "sha512:abcdef1234567890",
+			expected: "abcdef1234567890",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "plain hex digest without prefix",
+			input:    "aef46c66a7f2d5a12a7e3f54a64790daf5c9a9e66af3f46955efdaa6c900341d",
+			expected: "aef46c66a7f2d5a12a7e3f54a64790daf5c9a9e66af3f46955efdaa6c900341d",
+		},
+		{
+			name:     "empty string",
+			input:    "",
+			expected: "",
+		},
+	}
+
+	for _, tt := range tests {
+		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			result := stripDigestAlgorithm(tt.input)
+			if result != tt.expected {
+				t.Errorf("stripDigestAlgorithm(%q) = %q, want %q", tt.input, result, tt.expected)
+			}
+		})
+	}
+}