dbcve.org
HelmApplication

CVE-2022-36049

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-09-07
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.23.0 / 0.32.0 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Flux2 is a tool for keeping Kubernetes clusters in sync with sources of configuration, and Flux's helm-controller is a Kubernetes operator that allows one to declaratively manage Helm chart releases. Helm controller is tightly integrated with the Helm SDK. A vulnerability found in the Helm SDK that affects flux2 v0.0.17 until v0.32.0 and helm-controller v0.0.4 until v0.23.0 allows for specific data inputs to cause high memory consumption. In some platforms, this could cause the controller to panic and stop processing reconciliations. In a shared cluster multi-tenancy environment, a tenant could create a HelmRelease that makes the controller panic, denying all other tenants from their Helm releases being reconciled. Patches are available in flux2 v0.32.0 and helm-controller v0.23.0.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

A vulnerability in the Helm SDK affects flux2's helm-controller (versions v0.0.4 through v0.23.0). Specific data inputs in HelmRelease configurations can cause excessive memory consumption, leading to controller panic and cessation of reconciliation. In multi-tenant clusters, a malicious or negligent tenant can craft inputs that crash the controller, denying Helm release reconciliation to all tenants.

MitigationUpgrade helm-controller to v0.23.0+ and flux2 to v0.32.0+ to patch the Helm SDK vulnerability. Additionally, implement RBAC policies restricting HelmRelease creation to trusted tenants to reduce the attack surface in shared clusters.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
HelmApplication
Affected:>= 3.0.0, < 3.9.4
Flux2Application
Affected:>= 0.0.17, < 0.32.0
Helm ControllerApplication
Affected:>= 0.0.4, < 0.23.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

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

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify helm-controller version
    Run 'kubectl get deploy -n flux-system helm-controller -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"' to get the helm-controller image, then inspect the image tag
    Affected if The version is between v0.0.4 and v0.23.0 (exclusive of v0.23.0)
  2. Identify flux2 version
    Run 'kubectl get deploy -n flux-system source-controller -o jsonpath="{.spec.template.spec.containers[0].image}"' to get the flux controller image, then inspect the image tag
    Affected if The version is between v0.0.17 and v0.32.0 (exclusive of v0.32.0)
  3. Identify Helm version in use
    Run 'helm version' on the cluster or check the helm version used by the source-controller pod
    Affected if The Helm version is between 3.0.0 and 3.9.4 (exclusive of 3.9.4)
  4. Check for HelmRelease custom resources
    Run 'kubectl get hr -A' to list all HelmRelease resources in the cluster
    Affected if Any HelmRelease resources exist; the vulnerability is triggered when specific crafted data inputs are present in HelmRelease configurations

You are affected if your helm-controller version is < v0.23.0 OR your flux2 version is < v0.32.0, since the Helm SDK vulnerability exists in these ranges and can be exploited through malicious HelmRelease configurations.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.23.0 / 0.32.0 / 3.9.4 or later
Fixed in 0.23.00.32.03.9.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade helm-controller to v0.23.0+ and flux2 to v0.32.0+ to patch the Helm SDK vulnerability. Additionally, implement RBAC policies restricting HelmRelease creation to trusted tenants to reduce the attack surface in shared clusters.

Recommended fix High confidence

Helm 3.9.4+, Flux2 v0.32.0+, Helm Controller v0.23.0+

  1. Upgrade Helm to version 3.9.4 or later to resolve the underlying SDK vulnerability
  2. If using Flux2, upgrade to version 0.32.0 or later which includes the patched helm-controller
  3. If using Helm Controller directly, upgrade to version 0.23.0 or later
  4. After upgrading, monitor the controller pods to ensure normal memory consumption during reconciliations

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Helm Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-36049 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-36049 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data