CVE-2020-11013: Helm.sh/helm/v3 Lookup Function Information Discolosure Vulnerability

HIGH
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8
CVSS 8.5
CWE-200
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2020-11013 is a HIGH (CVSS 8.5) lookup function information discolosure vulnerability (CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor) affecting Helm.sh/helm/v3 libraries in the Go ecosystem. The issue involves lookup function information discolosure in helm. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.1.3.

CVE-2020-11013 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2020-11013
GHSA Identifier GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.5
CWE Classification CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor
Affected Product Helm.sh/helm/v3
Package Ecosystem Go
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.5

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required Low (PR:L)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2020-11013

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Helm.sh/helm/v3 dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

helm.sh/helm/v3 fixed: 3.1.3
Upgrade helm.sh/helm/v3 to 3.1.3
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release:

inspect dependencies for helm.sh/helm/v3

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2020-11013, inspect your project dependencies for Helm.sh/helm/v3:

inspect dependencies for helm.sh/helm/v3

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Helm.sh/helm/v3 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.1.3), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor, where the product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information. In Helm.sh/helm/v3, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.1.2. ### Impact `lookup` is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates. The documented behavior of `helm template` states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, as the recently added `lookup` template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during `helm template` and `helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run`. The user is not notified of this behavior. Running `helm template` should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from `install`, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability. A malicious chart author could inject a `lookup` into a chart that, when rendered through `helm template`, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's `KUBECONFIG` file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of `helm template`. ### Patches This issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0 ### Workarounds Due to another bug (also fixed in Helm 3.2.0), the command `helm lint` will fail with an error if the `lookup` function is used in a chart. Therefore, run `helm lint` on an untrusted chart before running `helm template`. Alternately, setting the `KUBECONFIG` environment variable to point to an empty Kubernetes configuration file will prevent unintended network connections. Finally, a chart may be manually analyzed for the presence of a `lookup` function in any file in the `templates/` directory. ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: * Open an issue in [the Helm repository](https://github.com/helm/helm/issues) * For security-specific issues, email us at [cncf-helm-security@lists.cncf.io](mailto:cncf-helm-security@lists.cncf.io)

CVE-2020-11013 Affected Helm.sh/helm/v3 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.1.3
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
helm.sh/helm/v3
Go
≥ 3.0.0
< 3.1.3
3.1.3

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2020-11013?
CVE-2020-11013 is a security vulnerability in Helm.sh/helm/v3 involving Lookup function information discolosure in helm under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor.
Which Helm.sh/helm/v3 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.1.3 across affected packages: helm.sh/helm/v3.
What version fixes CVE-2020-11013?
Upgrading to 3.1.3 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is helm.sh/helm/v3 affected?
Yes, helm.sh/helm/v3 is affected in releases prior to 3.1.3. Upgrade your dependency to 3.1.3 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2020-11013?
CVE-2020-11013 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2020-11013?
CVE-2020-11013 is classified under CWE-200: Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor (The product exposes sensitive information to an actor that is not explicitly authorized to have access to that information.).
How can I check Go dependencies for CVE-2020-11013?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for helm.sh/helm/v3'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8",
  "modified" : "2021-05-24T21:15:16Z",
  "published" : "2021-05-27T18:44:56Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2020-11013" ],
  "summary" : "Lookup function information discolosure in helm",
  "details" : "The Helm core maintainers have identified an information disclosure vulnerability in Helm 3.0.0-3.1.2. \n\n### Impact\n\n`lookup` is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. It is able to lookup resources in the cluster to check for the existence of specific resources and get details about them. This can be used as part of the process to render templates.\n\nThe documented behavior of `helm template` states that it does not attach to a remote cluster. However, as the recently added `lookup` template function circumvents this restriction and connects to the cluster even during `helm template` and `helm install|update|delete|rollback --dry-run`. The user is not notified of this behavior.\n\nRunning `helm template` should not make calls to a cluster. This is different from `install`, which is presumed to have access to a cluster in order to load resources into Kubernetes. Helm 2 is unaffected by this vulnerability.\n\nA malicious chart author could inject a `lookup` into a chart that, when rendered through `helm template`, performs unannounced lookups against the cluster a user's `KUBECONFIG` file points to. This information can then be disclosed via the output of `helm template`.\n\n### Patches\n\nThis issue has been fixed in Helm 3.2.0\n\n### Workarounds\n\nDue to another bug (also fixed in Helm 3.2.0), the command `helm lint` will fail with an error if the `lookup` function is used in a chart. Therefore, run `helm lint` on an untrusted chart before running `helm template`.\n\nAlternately, setting the `KUBECONFIG` environment variable to point to an empty Kubernetes configuration file will prevent unintended network connections.\n\nFinally, a chart may be manually analyzed for the presence of a `lookup` function in any file in the `templates/` directory.  \n\n### For more information\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n* Open an issue in [the Helm repository](https://github.com/helm/helm/issues)\n* For security-specific issues, email us at [cncf-helm-security@lists.cncf.io](mailto:cncf-helm-security@lists.cncf.io)",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:L/A:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "Go",
      "name" : "helm.sh/helm/v3"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.0.0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.1.3"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/helm/helm/security/advisories/GHSA-q8q8-93cv-v6h8"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-11013"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/7969"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/helm/helm/pull/7969/commits/c67b644a791a8fa61c760a3a0474533e63e74008"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/helm/helm/releases/tag/v3.2.0"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-200" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2021-05-24T21:15:16Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : null
  }
}