Medium severity · published Sep 17, 2020
CVE-2020-15187
In Helm before versions 2.16.11 and 3.3.2, a Helm plugin can contain duplicates of the same entry, with the last one always used
4.7
CVSS
1.5%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In Helm before versions 2.16.11 and 3.3.2, a Helm plugin can contain duplicates of the same entry, with the last one always used. If a plugin is compromised, this lowers the level of access that an attacker needs to modify a plugin's install hooks, causing a local execution attack.
To perform this attack, an attacker must have write access to the git repository or plugin archive (.tgz) while being downloaded (which can occur during a MITM attack on a non-SSL connection). This issue has been patched in Helm 2.16.11 and Helm 3.3.2.
As a possible workaround make sure to install plugins using a secure connection protocol like SSL.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)1.5% · higher than 74% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
HE
Helm · Helm
2.0.0 before 2.16.11; 3.0.0 before 3.3.2 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-15187
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2020-15187
github.com
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/6aab63765f99050b115f0aec3d6350c85e8da946
github.com
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/ac7c07c37d87e09797f714fb57aa5e9cb99d9450
github.com
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/b0296c0522e837d65f944beefa3fb64fd08ac304
github.com
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/c8d6b01d72c9604e43ee70d0d78fadd54c2d8499
Patch
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/d9ef5ce8bad512e325390c0011be1244b8380e4b
github.com
https://github.com/helm/helm/commit/f2ede29480b507b7d8bb152dd8b6b86248b00658
More from Helm
9.8
CVE-2019-18658
In Helm 2.x before 2.15.2, commands that deal with loading a chart as a directory or packaging a chart provide an opportunity for a maliciously designed chart to include sensitive…
9.8
CVE-2019-1010275
helm Before 2.7.2 is affected by: CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation
8.6
CVE-2026-35204
Helm has a path traversal in plugin metadata version enables arbitrary file write outside Helm plugin directory
8.6
CVE-2025-53547
Helm Chart Dependency Updating With Malicious Chart.yaml Content And Symlink Can Lead To Code Execution
8.6
CVE-2021-32690
Helm is a tool for managing Charts (packages of pre-configured Kubernetes resources)
