Helm Allows A Specially Crafted Chart Archive To Cause Out Of Memory Termination
Helm is a tool for managing Charts. A chart archive file can be crafted in a manner where it expands to be significantly larger uncompressed than compressed (e.g., >800x difference). When Helm loads this specially crafted chart, memory can be exhausted causing the application to terminate. This issue has been resolved in Helm v3.17.3.
- Published
- Apr 9, 2025
- Updated
- Jun 17, 2026
- EPSS
- 0.4% · 37th percentile
- CWE
- CWE-770
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Report tools
Action score
26
Monitor
Low priority for now.
- CVSS
- 26 / 40 · 6.5 / 10
- CISA KEV
- 0 / 30 · Not listed
- EPSS
- 0 / 30 · 0.4%
CISA SSVC decision
- Exploitation
- none
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- partial
Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.
CNA vs NVD score
- NVD
- —
- CNA · GitHub_M
- 6.5
- NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.
The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.
Affected systems
| Vendor | Product | CPE |
|---|---|---|
| helm | helm | cpe:2.3:a:helm:helm |
Affected versions
NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.
- helm helmbefore 3.17.3
Versions reported by the vendor
Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (GitHub_M). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.
helm helm
- < 3.17.3affected
Package-level exposure
OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| Go | helm.sh/helm/v3 | before 3.17.3 | 3.17.3 |
| openSUSE:Tumbleweed | govulncheck-vulndb | before 0.0.20250410T162706-1.1 | 0.0.20250410T162706-1.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP6 | helm-mirror | before 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 | 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP6 | helm-mirror | before 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 | 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-aws | before 3.11.0-150200.6.18.1 | 3.11.0-150200.6.18.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-azurerm | before 2.32.0-150200.6.12.1 | 2.32.0-150200.6.12.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-external | before 2.0.0-150200.6.12.1 | 2.0.0-150200.6.12.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-google | before 3.43.0-150200.6.12.1 | 3.43.0-150200.6.12.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-helm | before 2.9.0-150200.6.23.1 | 2.9.0-150200.6.23.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-kubernetes | before 1.13.2-150200.6.12.1 | 1.13.2-150200.6.12.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-local | before 2.0.0-150200.6.17.1 | 2.0.0-150200.6.17.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-null | before 3.0.0-150200.6.18.1 | 3.0.0-150200.6.18.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-random | before 3.0.0-150200.6.15.1 | 3.0.0-150200.6.15.1 |
| SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | terraform-provider-tls | before 3.0.0-150200.5.15.1 | 3.0.0-150200.5.15.1 |
Same product
helm: all recordsOther highest-scoring records for the same primary product.
- CVE-2019-18658In 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 maliciou40Plan
- CVE-2019-1010275helm Before 2.7.2 is affected by: CWE-295: Improper Certificate Validation.39Monitor
- CVE-2025-53547Helm Chart Dependency Updating With Malicious Chart.yaml Content And Symlink Can Lead To Code Execution34Monitor
- CVE-2021-32690Repository credentials passed to alternate domain34Monitor
- CVE-2026-35205Helm's plugin verification fails open when .prov is missing, allowing unsigned plugin install33Monitor
- CVE-2026-35204Helm has a path traversal in plugin metadata version enables arbitrary file write outside Helm plugin directory33Monitor
Remediation
Which version to upgrade to
Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.
| Product / package | Fixed version | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Go:helm.sh/helm/v3 | 3.17.3 | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:govulncheck-vulndb | 0.0.20250410T162706-1.1 · openSUSE:Tumbleweed | Package registry (OSV) |
| opensuse:helm-mirror | 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 · openSUSE:Leap 15.6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:helm-mirror | 0.3.1-150000.1.18.2 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP6 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-aws | 3.11.0-150200.6.18.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-azurerm | 2.32.0-150200.6.12.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-external | 2.0.0-150200.6.12.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-google | 3.43.0-150200.6.12.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-helm | 2.9.0-150200.6.23.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-kubernetes | 1.13.2-150200.6.12.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-local | 2.0.0-150200.6.17.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-null | 3.0.0-150200.6.18.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-random | 3.0.0-150200.6.15.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
| suse:terraform-provider-tls | 3.0.0-150200.5.15.1 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Public Cloud 15 SP4 | Package registry (OSV) |
Exploit status
No known public exploit
No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.
Research context
For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.
Timeline
From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.
No dated events beyond publication.
FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).
Patch and commit links
Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.
Credits
All researchersFinders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.
No credits in the CNA record.
Variant candidates
Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.
- CVE-2025-55199126 days apartHelm Charts with Specific JSON Schema Values Can Cause Memory Exhaustion26Monitor
Chain candidates
An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.
—
Bug bounty scope
No known public program.
Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).
Technical details
Attack conditions
- Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
- No account or password is required.
- A user must open a link or visit a page.
- No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
If successful
- Confidentiality
- none
- Integrity
- none
- Availability
- high · the service can be disrupted
- Attack vector
- Network
- Attack complexity
- Low
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality impact
- None
- Integrity impact
- None
- Availability impact
- High
Weakness class (CWE)
CWE-770 · Allocation of Resources Without Limits or ThrottlingCVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
nvd-secondary
Attack context
MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.
Attack patterns (CAPEC)
- FloodingCAPEC-125likelihood: High · Medium
- Excessive AllocationCAPEC-130likelihood: Medium · Medium
- XML Ping of the DeathCAPEC-147likelihood: Low · Medium
- Exponential Data ExpansionCAPEC-197likelihood: High · Medium
- Serialized Data Parameter BlowupCAPEC-229likelihood: High · High
- Serialized Data with Nested PayloadsCAPEC-230likelihood: Medium · High
- Oversized Serialized Data PayloadsCAPEC-231likelihood: Medium · High
- HTTP DoSCAPEC-469Low
ATT&CK techniques
- Network Denial of Service:Direct Network FloodT1498.001
- Network Denial of Service:Reflection AmplificationT1498.002
- Endpoint Denial of ServiceT1499
- Endpoint Denial of Service: OS Exhaustion FloodT1499.001
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Service Exhaustion FloodT1499.002
- Endpoint Denial of Service:Application Exhaustion FloodT1499.003
Noroxi analysis
No Noroxi analysis for this record yet
We don't hand-write analysis for all 385,000+ vulnerabilities; that wouldn't be honest. For notable, high-impact vulnerabilities our team writes the mechanism, detection and remediation steps.
We use this product, ask for helpChange log
- Fix✗ → ✓
For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →
References
- github.com/helm/helm/commit/d8ca55fc669645c10c0681d49723f4bb8c0b1ce7
- github.com/helm/helm/security/advisories/GHSA-4hfp-h4cw-hj8p
Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.