CVE-2026-35206
Directory Traversal in Helm Charts Causes Unsafe File Extraction
Publication date: 2026-04-09
Last updated on: 2026-04-16
Assigner: GitHub, Inc.
Description
Description
CVSS Scores
EPSS Scores
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Meta Information
Affected Vendors & Products
| Vendor | Product | Version / Range |
|---|---|---|
| helm | helm | From 4.0.0 (inc) to 4.1.4 (exc) |
| helm | helm | to 3.20.2 (exc) |
Helpful Resources
Exploitability
| CWE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CWE-22 | The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but the product does not properly neutralize special elements within the pathname that can cause the pathname to resolve to a location that is outside of the restricted directory. |
Attack-Flow Graph
AI Powered Q&A
Can you explain this vulnerability to me?
This vulnerability affects Helm, a package manager for Kubernetes Charts, in versions up to 3.20.1 and 4.1.3. When using the command 'helm pull --untar' with a specially crafted Chart, the contents of the Chart are written directly to the immediate output directory (which defaults to the current working directory or can be specified by flags), instead of being placed in a subdirectory named after the Chart as expected.
This behavior can lead to files being extracted in unintended locations, potentially overwriting existing files or causing confusion about file placement.
The issue is fixed in Helm versions 3.20.2 and 4.1.4.
How can this vulnerability impact me? :
This vulnerability can impact users by causing files from a Helm Chart to be extracted into unintended directories, such as the current working directory, rather than a dedicated subdirectory.
This may lead to overwriting important files, cluttering directories, or introducing unexpected files into critical locations, which could disrupt system operations or deployment processes.
What immediate steps should I take to mitigate this vulnerability?
To mitigate this vulnerability, upgrade Helm to version 3.20.2 or later, or 4.1.4 or later, where the issue has been fixed.