CVE-2026-35204 — v4
Fix: helm/helm@36c8539CVE-2026-35204 is a Path Traversal vulnerability in helm.sh/helm/v4. A fix is available for helm.sh/helm/v4 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Helm has a path traversal in plugin metadata version enables arbitrary file write outside Helm plugin directory
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2026-35204.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Real-World Exposure
helm.sh/helm/v4Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Helm is a package manager for Charts for Kubernetes. In Helm versions >=4.0.0 and <=4.1.3, a specially crafted Helm plugin, when installed or updated, will cause Helm to write the contents of the plugin to an arbitrary filesystem location.
Impact
A Helm user who installs or updates a plugin that is specially crafted can cause Helm to attempt to write the content of the affected plugin to an arbitrary location on the user's filesystem. Impacted users risk potentially overwriting user and system files which may further compromise the integrity of a system.
Patches
This issue has been patched in Helm v4.1.4
Installing/updating a plugin with a non-SemVer version (which excludes path traversal patterns) will result in an error.
Workarounds
Validate that the plugin.yaml of the Helm plugin does not include a version: field containing POSIX dot-dot path separators ie. "/../".
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | helm.sh/helm/v4 | ≥ 4.0.0&&< 4.1.4 | 4.1.4go get helm.sh/helm/v4@v4.1.4 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for helm.sh/helm/v4, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update helm.sh/helm/v4 to 4.1.4 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-35204 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-35204 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-35204. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
| Product | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|
| Helm CLI 4.1 | helm-cli-4.1.4 | RHSA-2026:26441 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2026-35204 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-35204 across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.