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NVD / CVE Program· CNA GitHub_M

CVE-2020-15186: Improper sanitization of plugin names in Helm

LowCVSS 2.7 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 10/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.96% (FIRST EPSS); higher than 62% of all records.
  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it. Administrator privileges are required. No user action is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: helm.sh/helm (Go) 2.16.11; helm.sh/helm/v3 (Go) 3.3.2; kubernetes (SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP1) 1.17.13-4.21.2.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Upgrade to helm.sh/helm (Go) 2.16.11; helm.sh/helm/v3 (Go) 3.3.2; kubernetes (SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP1) 1.17.13-4.21.2 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

In Helm before versions 2.16.11 and 3.3.2 plugin names are not sanitized properly. As a result, a malicious plugin author could use characters in a plugin name that would result in unexpected behavior, such as duplicating the name of another plugin or spoofing the output to `helm --help`. This issue has been patched in Helm 3.3.2. A possible workaround is to not install untrusted Helm plugins. Examine the `name` field in the `plugin.yaml` file for a plugin, looking for characters outside of the [a-zA-Z0-9._-] range.

Published
Sep 17, 2020
Updated
Jun 16, 2026
EPSS
0.9% · 62th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

10

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
10 / 40 · 2.7 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.9%

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
2.7
CNA · GitHub_M
3.4
0.7 point gap

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

Get told when this record changes

  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

If any of these changes, we'll tell you in the daily email digest.

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When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

VendorProduct
helmhelm

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

    • >= 2.0.0, < 2.16.11, >= 3.0.0, < 3.3.2affected

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

  • helm helm2.0.0 and later · before 2.16.11
  • helm helm3.0.0 and later · before 3.3.2

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

EcosystemPackageAffected rangeFix
Gohelm.sh/helmbefore 2.16.112.16.11
Gohelm.sh/helm/v3from 3.0.0 · before 3.3.23.3.2
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP1kubernetesbefore 1.17.13-4.21.21.17.13-4.21.2

Same product

helm: all records

Other 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…
    40Plan
  • 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 Execution
    34Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-15184Sep 17, 2020 · Aliases are never checked in Helm
    10Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2020-15185Sep 17, 2020 · Duplicated chart entries in Helm
    10Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2020-15187Sep 17, 2020 · Duplicate plugin entries in Helm
    18Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
Go:helm.sh/helm2.16.11Package registry (OSV)
Go:helm.sh/helm/v33.3.2Package registry (OSV)
suse:kubernetes1.17.13-4.21.2 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Containers 15 SP1Package 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.

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Not on record for this CVE: EPSS history · researcher credit · variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Anyone who can reach it over the internet can trigger it.
  • Administrator privileges are required.
  • No user action is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
none
Integrity
low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability
none
Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality impact
None
Integrity impact
Low
Availability impact
None

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-20 · Improper Input Validation

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N

nvd-primary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records