CVE-2020-4053
Path Traversal in Helm Plugin Archive
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- Low
- User interaction
- Required
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- Low
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- None
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
3.7
Path Traversal in Helm Plugin Archive
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
- Record
CVE-2020-4053- CVSS 3.1
- 3.7 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2021-1385
3.7
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
- Record
EUVD-2021-1385- CVSS 3.1
- 3.7 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f
3.7
Plugin archive directory traversal in Helm
The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.2.3.
Impact
A traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory.
Traversal Attacks are a form of a Directory Traversal that can be exploited by extracting files from an archive. The premise of the Directory Traversal vulnerability is that an attacker can gain access to parts of the file system outside of the target folder in which they should reside. The attacker can then overwrite executable files and either invoke them remotely or wait for the system or user to call them, thus achieving Remote Command Execution on the victim's machine. The vulnerability can also cause damage by overwriting configuration files or other sensitive resources, and can be exploited on both client (user) machines and servers.
https://snyk.io/research/zip-slip-vulnerability
Specific Go Packages Affected
helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/plugin/installer
Patches
This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.4
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in the Helm repository
- For security-specific issues, email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f- CVSS 3.1
- 3.7 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
3.7
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
- Record
CVE-2020-4053- CVSS 3.1
- 3.7 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - CVSS 3.1
- 6.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - CVSS 2.0
- 8.5 High
AV:N/AC:M/Au:S/C:C/I:C/A:C - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.8
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
- Record
CVE-2020-4053- CVSS 3.1
- 6.8 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f
3.7
Plugin archive directory traversal in Helm
The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.2.3.
Impact
A traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory.
Traversal Attacks are a form of a Directory Traversal that can be exploited by extracting files from an archive. The premise of the Directory Traversal vulnerability is that an attacker can gain access to parts of the file system outside of the target folder in which they should reside. The attacker can then overwrite executable files and either invoke them remotely or wait for the system or user to call them, thus achieving Remote Command Execution on the victim's machine. The vulnerability can also cause damage by overwriting configuration files or other sensitive resources, and can be exploited on both client (user) machines and servers.
https://snyk.io/research/zip-slip-vulnerability
Specific Go Packages Affected
helm.sh/helm/v3/pkg/plugin/installer
Patches
This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.4
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in the Helm repository
- For security-specific issues, email us at [email protected]
- Record
GHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f- CVSS 3.1
- 3.7 Low
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:N - Weakness
- CWE-22
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVBIT-helm-2020-4053 No score
Path Traversal in Helm Plugin Archive
In Helm greater than or equal to 3.0.0 and less than 3.2.4, a path traversal attack is possible when installing Helm plugins from a tar archive over HTTP. It is possible for a malicious plugin author to inject a relative path into a plugin archive, and copy a file outside of the intended directory. This has been fixed in 3.2.4.
- Record
BIT-helm-2020-4053- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
helm.sh/helm/v3Go |
3.0.0 up to 3.2.4 | 3.2.4 |
helmBitnami |
3.0.0 up to 3.2.4 | 3.2.4 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2020-4053 is a low vulnerability (CVSS 3.7) in Helm, published June 16, 2020. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.46%, the 73rd percentile. Fixed in helm.sh/helm/v3 3.2.4.
References
github.com/helm/helm/security/advisories/GHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f
github.com/helm/helm/commit/0ad800ef43d3b826f31a5ad8dfbb4fe05d143688
github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.2.4
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-4053
github.com/helm/helm/pull/8317
github.com/helm/helm/commit/b6bbe4f08bbb98eadd6c9cd726b08a5c639908b3
github.com/advisories/GHSA-qq3j-xp49-j73f