diff --git a/go.mod b/go.mod
index 1263e7a8..a3711396 100644
--- a/go.mod
+++ b/go.mod
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/sirupsen/logrus v1.7.0
 	github.com/smartystreets/assertions v0.0.0-20190116191733-b6c0e53d7304 // indirect
 	github.com/spf13/cobra v1.1.1
-	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0
+	github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0
 	github.com/xanzy/ssh-agent v0.3.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/crypto v0.0.0-20201117144127-c1f2f97bffc9 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/net v0.0.0-20201110031124-69a78807bb2b // indirect
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index caaf5b21..b833ccf3 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -323,6 +323,8 @@ github.com/stretchr/testify v1.2.2/go.mod h1:a8OnRcib4nhh0OaRAV+Yts87kKdq0PP7pXf
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.3.0/go.mod h1:M5WIy9Dh21IEIfnGCwXGc5bZfKNJtfHm1UVUgZn+9EI=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0 h1:2E4SXV/wtOkTonXsotYi4li6zVWxYlZuYNCXe9XRJyk=
 github.com/stretchr/testify v1.4.0/go.mod h1:j7eGeouHqKxXV5pUuKE4zz7dFj8WfuZ+81PSLYec5m4=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0 h1:nwc3DEeHmmLAfoZucVR881uASk0Mfjw8xYJ99tb5CcY=
+github.com/stretchr/testify v1.7.0/go.mod h1:6Fq8oRcR53rry900zMqJjRRixrwX3KX962/h/Wwjteg=
 github.com/subosito/gotenv v1.2.0/go.mod h1:N0PQaV/YGNqwC0u51sEeR/aUtSLEXKX9iv69rRypqCw=
 github.com/tmc/grpc-websocket-proxy v0.0.0-20190109142713-0ad062ec5ee5/go.mod h1:ncp9v5uamzpCO7NfCPTXjqaC+bZgJeR0sMTm6dMHP7U=
 github.com/urfave/cli v1.22.2/go.mod h1:Gos4lmkARVdJ6EkW0WaNv/tZAAMe9V7XWyB60NtXRu0=
@@ -504,6 +506,7 @@ gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.2.4/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.2.8/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.3.0 h1:clyUAQHOM3G0M3f5vQj7LuJrETvjVot3Z5el9nffUtU=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v2 v2.3.0/go.mod h1:hI93XBmqTisBFMUTm0b8Fm+jr3Dg1NNxqwp+5A1VGuI=
+gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200313102051-9f266ea9e77c/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200615113413-eeeca48fe776 h1:tQIYjPdBoyREyB9XMu+nnTclpTYkz2zFM+lzLJFO4gQ=
 gopkg.in/yaml.v3 v3.0.0-20200615113413-eeeca48fe776/go.mod h1:K4uyk7z7BCEPqu6E+C64Yfv1cQ7kz7rIZviUmN+EgEM=
 gotest.tools v2.2.0+incompatible h1:VsBPFP1AI068pPrMxtb/S8Zkgf9xEmTLJjfM+P5UIEo=
diff --git a/pkg/common/git.go b/pkg/common/git.go
index c551c226..09292b26 100644
--- a/pkg/common/git.go
+++ b/pkg/common/git.go
@@ -238,6 +238,9 @@ func NewGitCloneExecutor(input NewGitCloneExecutorInput) Executor {
 
 		// At this point we need to know if it's a tag or a branch
 		// And the easiest way to do it is duck typing
+		//
+		// If err is nil, it's a tag so let's proceed with that hash like we would if
+		// it was a sha
 		refType := "tag"
 		rev := plumbing.Revision(path.Join("refs", "tags", input.Ref))
 		if _, err := r.Tag(input.Ref); errors.Is(err, git.ErrTagNotFound) {
@@ -258,29 +261,20 @@ func NewGitCloneExecutor(input NewGitCloneExecutorInput) Executor {
 		if hash.String() != input.Ref {
 
 			// Run git fetch to make sure we have the latest sha
-			err = r.Fetch(&git.FetchOptions{})
-			if err != nil && err.Error() != "already up-to-date" {
+			err := r.Fetch(&git.FetchOptions{})
+			if err != nil && !errors.Is(err, git.NoErrAlreadyUpToDate) {
 				logger.Debugf("Unable to fetch: %v", err)
 			}
 
-			// At this point we need to know if it's a tag or a branch
-			// And the easiest way to do it is duck typing
-			//
-			// If err is nil, it's a tag so let's proceed with that hash like we would if
-			// it was a sha
-			hash, err = r.ResolveRevision(rev)
-			if err != nil {
-				logger.Errorf("Unable to resolve %s: %v", rev, err)
-				return err
-			}
 			if refType == "branch" {
 				logger.Debugf("Provided ref is not a sha. Checking out branch before pulling changes")
+				sourceRef := plumbing.ReferenceName(path.Join("refs", "remotes", "origin", input.Ref))
 				err := w.Checkout(&git.CheckoutOptions{
-					Branch: refName,
+					Branch: sourceRef,
 					Force:  true,
 				})
 				if err != nil {
-					logger.Errorf("Unable to checkout %s: %v", refName, err)
+					logger.Errorf("Unable to checkout %s: %v", sourceRef, err)
 					return err
 				}
 			}
diff --git a/pkg/common/git_test.go b/pkg/common/git_test.go
index bd70d87d..e09004b0 100644
--- a/pkg/common/git_test.go
+++ b/pkg/common/git_test.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package common
 
 import (
+	"context"
 	"fmt"
 	"io/ioutil"
 	"os"
@@ -169,6 +170,37 @@ func TestGitFindRef(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestGitCloneExecutor(t *testing.T) {
+	for name, tt := range map[string]struct {
+		URL string
+		Ref string
+		Err error
+	}{
+		"tag": {
+			URL: "https://github.com/actions/checkout",
+			Ref: "v2",
+			Err: nil,
+		},
+		"branch": {
+			URL: "https://github.com/anchore/scan-action",
+			Ref: "act-fails",
+			Err: nil,
+		},
+	} {
+		tt := tt
+		name := name
+		t.Run(name, func(t *testing.T) {
+			clone := NewGitCloneExecutor(NewGitCloneExecutorInput{
+				URL: tt.URL,
+				Ref: tt.Ref,
+				Dir: testDir(t),
+			})
+			err := clone(context.Background())
+			assert.ErrorIs(t, err, tt.Err)
+		})
+	}
+}
+
 func gitConfig() {
 	if os.Getenv("GITHUB_ACTIONS") == "true" {
 		_ = gitCmd("config", "--global", "user.email", "test@test.com")