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CVE-2020-11013

lookup Function Information Discolosure in Helm

8.5 HighFix available

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Attack profile

How easy it is to exploit

Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges needed
Low
User interaction
None

What an attacker can affect

Confidentiality
High
Integrity
Low
Availability
None

Exploit likelihood

1.41%Up 0.8 points since Apr 14, 2021
90%50%10%1%

What each source reports

CVE List Score used 8.5

lookup Function Information Discolosure in Helm

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
CVE-2020-11013
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-200
Updated
2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-1164 8.5

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
EUVD-2021-1164
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Updated
2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8 8.5

Lookup function information discolosure in helm

The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.1.2.

Impact

lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates.

The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, as the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior.

Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability.

A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template.

Patches

This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Workarounds

Due to another bug (also fixed in Helm 3.2.0), the command helm lint will fail with an error if the lookup function is used in a chart. Therefore, run helm lint on an untrusted chart before running helm template.

Alternately, setting the KUBECONFIG environment variable to point to an empty Kubernetes configuration file will prevent unintended network connections.

Finally, a chart may be manually analyzed for the presence of a lookup function in any file in the templates/ directory.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Record
GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-200
Updated
2026-11-02
NVD 8.5

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
CVE-2020-11013
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
CVSS 2.0
4.0 MediumAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:P/I:N/A:N
Weakness
CWE-200
Updated
2026-11-02
OSV 5.0

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
CVE-2020-11013
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8 8.5

Lookup function information discolosure in helm

The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.1.2.

Impact

lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates.

The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, as the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior.

Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability.

A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template.

Patches

This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Workarounds

Due to another bug (also fixed in Helm 3.2.0), the command helm lint will fail with an error if the lookup function is used in a chart. Therefore, run helm lint on an untrusted chart before running helm template.

Alternately, setting the KUBECONFIG environment variable to point to an empty Kubernetes configuration file will prevent unintended network connections.

Finally, a chart may be manually analyzed for the presence of a lookup function in any file in the templates/ directory.

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

Record
GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
Weakness
CWE-200
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVUBUNTU-CVE-2020-11013 8.5

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
UBUNTU-CVE-2020-11013
CVSS 3.1
8.5 HighCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N
CVSS 3.1
5.0 MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N
Updated
2026-11-02
OSVBIT-helm-2020-11013 No score

lookup Function Information Discolosure in Helm

Their is an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm from version 3.1.0 and before version 3.2.0. lookup is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of helm template states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, a the recently added lookup template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during helm template and helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running helm template should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from install, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a lookup into a chart that, when rendered through helm template, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's KUBECONFIG file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of helm template. This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0

Record
BIT-helm-2020-11013
Updated
2026-11-02

Affected products

Affected packages

Affected packages
PackageAffectedFixed
helm.sh/helm/v3
Go
3.0.0 up to 3.1.3
3.1.3
helm
Bitnami
3.1.0 up to 3.2.0
3.2.0
helm
Ubuntu:16.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
1.9.1-11.9.2-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:18.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
2.8.2-12.8.5-12.8.6-12.8.7-12.8.8-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:20.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.2-13.5.0-33.6.0-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:22.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.7.0-23.8.0-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:24.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
3.8.4-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:25.10
All versions, plus listed versions
3.8.4-24.0.3-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:26.10
All versions, plus listed versions
4.0.6-34.0.7-1
None known
helm
Ubuntu:26.04:LTS
All versions, plus listed versions
4.0.3-14.0.6-14.0.6-24.0.6-3
None known

History

History
RecordedChangedSources
aliasesEUVD
first indexedCVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV

Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.

In short

CVE-2020-11013 is a high vulnerability (CVSS 8.5) in Helm, published April 24, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.41%, the 72nd percentile. Fixed in helm.sh/helm/v3 3.1.3.

References

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