Helm vulnerable to denial of service through through repository index file

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

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

EPSS

• CVE-2022-23525: 0.89% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 59.38 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Fuzz testing, by Ada Logics and sponsored by the CNCF, identified input to functions in the repo package that can cause a segmentation violation. Applications that use functions from the repo package in the Helm SDK can have a Denial of Service attack when they use this package and it panics. Impact The repo package contains a handler that processes the index file of a repository. For example, the Helm client adds references to chart repositories where charts are managed. The repo package parses the index file of the repository and loads it into structures Go can work with. Some index files can cause array data structures to be created causing a memory violation. Applications that use the repo package in the Helm SDK to parse an index file can suffer a Denial of Service when that input causes a panic that cannot be recovered from. The Helm Client will panic with an index file that causes a memory violation panic. Helm is not a long running service so the panic will not affect future…

Published by the source

14 Dec 2022, 21:38 UTC

Last modified by the source

8 Sep 2023, 05:03 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-53c4-hhmh-vw5q

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2022-23525

Advisory: Helm vulnerable to denial of service through through repository index file
IDs: CVE-2022-23525, GHSA-53c4-hhmh-vw5q
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2022-23525 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:59 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: helm.sh/helm/v3 3.10.3. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go helm.sh/helm/v3: affected < 3.10.3; fixed in 3.10.3

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go helm.sh/helm/v3: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on helm.sh/helm/v3.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-53c4-hhmh-vw5q (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-53c4-hhmh-vw5q lists affected ranges: Go helm.sh/helm/v3 >=0 <3.10.3)

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