diff --git a/lib/modules/manager/git-submodules/extract.ts b/lib/modules/manager/git-submodules/extract.ts
index fce3e496a77339..a762aa5d463aa1 100644
--- a/lib/modules/manager/git-submodules/extract.ts
+++ b/lib/modules/manager/git-submodules/extract.ts
@@ -123,7 +123,9 @@ export default async function extractPackageFile(
   const deps = [];
   for (const { name, path } of depNames) {
     try {
-      const [currentDigest] = (await git.subModule(['status', path]))
+      const [currentDigest] = (
+        await git.subModule(['status', '--cached', path])
+      )
         .trim()
         .replace(regEx(/^[-+]/), '')
         .split(regEx(/\s/));