Summary
Fuzz testing, by Ada Logics and sponsored by the CNCF, identified input to functions in the _strvals_ package that can cause an out of memory panic. Out of memory panics cannot be recovered from. Applications that use functions from the _strvals_ package in the Helm SDK can have a Denial of Service attack when they use this package and it panics.
Workarounds
SDK users can validate strings supplied by users won't create large arrays causing significant memory usage before passing them to the _strvals_ functions.
For more information
Helm's security policy is spelled out in detail in our SECURITY document.
Credits
Disclosed by Ada Logics in a fuzzing audit sponsored by CNCF.
Impact
The _strvals_ package contains a parser that turns strings into Go structures. For example, the Helm client has command line flags like --set, --set-string, and others that enable the user to pass in strings that are merged into the values. The _strvals_ package converts these strings into structures Go can work with. Some string inputs can cause array data structures to be created causing an out of memory panic.
Applications that use the _strvals_ package in the Helm SDK to parse user supplied input can suffer a Denial of Service when that input causes a panic that cannot be recovered from.
The Helm Client will panic with input to --set, --set-string, and other value setting flags that causes an out of memory panic. Helm is not a long running service so the panic will not affect future uses of the Helm client.
Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service. Typical impact: denial of service.
CVE-2022-36055 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). 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 (3.9.4); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
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. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
Remediation advice
This issue has been resolved in 3.9.4.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2022-36055? CVE-2022-36055 is a medium-severity uncontrolled resource consumption vulnerability in helm.sh/helm/v3 (go), affecting versions < 3.9.4. It is fixed in 3.9.4. Crafted input forces the application to consume excessive CPU, memory, or other resources, degrading or denying service.
- How severe is CVE-2022-36055? CVE-2022-36055 has a CVSS score of 6.5 (Medium). 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.
- Which versions of helm.sh/helm/v3 are affected by CVE-2022-36055? helm.sh/helm/v3 (go) versions < 3.9.4 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2022-36055? Yes. CVE-2022-36055 is fixed in 3.9.4. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2022-36055 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2022-36055 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
- What actually determines whether CVE-2022-36055 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.
- How do I fix CVE-2022-36055? Upgrade
helm.sh/helm/v3to 3.9.4 or later.