CVE-2022-24348

Workarounds

No workaround for this issue.

References

• https://apiiro.com/blog/malicious-kubernetes-helm-charts-can-be-used-to-steal-sensitive-information-from-argo-cd-deployments
• https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-24348

For more information

• Open an issue in the Argo CD issue tracker or discussions
• Join us on Slack in channel #argo-cd

Credits

The path traversal vulnerability was discovered and reported by Moshe Zioni, VP Security Research, Apiiro.

During the development of a fix for the path traversal vulnerability, the Argo CD team discovered the related issue with symbolic links.

The Argo CD team would like to thank Moshe Zioni for the responsible disclosure, and the constructive discussions during handling this issue!

All versions of Argo CD are vulnerable to a path traversal bug that allows to pass arbitrary values files to be consumed by Helm charts.

Additionally, it is possible to craft special Helm chart packages containing value files that are actually symbolic links, pointing to arbitrary files outside the repository's root directory.

If an attacker with permissions to create or update Applications knows or can guess the full path to a file containing valid YAML, they can create a malicious Helm chart to consume that YAML as values files, thereby gaining access to data they would otherwise have no access to.

The impact can especially become critical in environments that make use of encrypted value files (e.g. using plugins with git-crypt or SOPS) containing sensitive or confidential data, and decrypt these secrets to disk before rendering the Helm chart.

Also, because any error message from helm template is passed back to the user, and these error messages are quite verbose, enumeration of files on the repository server's file system is possible.

Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files. Typical impact: unauthorized file read or write outside the intended directory.

CVE-2022-24348 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (2.1.9, 2.2.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.

Kodem intelligence

A patch for this vulnerability has been released in the following Argo CD versions:

• v2.3.0
• v2.2.4
• v2.1.9

We urge users of Argo CD to update their installation to one of the fixed versions as listed above.

1. What is CVE-2022-24348? CVE-2022-24348 is a high-severity path traversal vulnerability in github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (go), affecting versions < 2.1.9. It is fixed in 2.1.9, 2.2.4. Input manipulates file paths to reach files outside the intended directory, such as configuration or credential files.
2. How severe is CVE-2022-24348? CVE-2022-24348 has a CVSS score of 7.7 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
3. Which packages are affected by CVE-2022-24348?
   • github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 (go) (versions < 2.1.9)
   • github.com/argoproj/argo-cd (go) (versions < 2.1.9)
4. Is there a fix for CVE-2022-24348? Yes. CVE-2022-24348 is fixed in 2.1.9, 2.2.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
5. Is CVE-2022-24348 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-24348 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
6. What actually determines whether CVE-2022-24348 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
7. How do I fix CVE-2022-24348?
   • Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 to 2.1.9 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2 to 2.2.4 or later
   • Upgrade github.com/argoproj/argo-cd to 2.1.9 or later