GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg is a high-severity (CVSS 8.6) Path Traversal vulnerability in helm.sh/helm/v4. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
Helm has a path traversal in plugin metadata version enables arbitrary file write outside Helm plugin directory
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 | 4.1.4 |
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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
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 GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg 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 pinpoints whether GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-vmx8-mqv2-9gmg across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.