Flux2 Helm Controller denial of service
Description
Flux2 is a tool for keeping Kubernetes clusters in sync with sources of configuration, and Flux's helm-controller is a Kubernetes operator that allows one to declaratively manage Helm chart releases. Helm controller is tightly integrated with the Helm SDK. A vulnerability found in the Helm SDK that affects flux2 v0.0.17 until v0.32.0 and helm-controller v0.0.4 until v0.23.0 allows for specific data inputs to cause high memory consumption. In some platforms, this could cause the controller to panic and stop processing reconciliations. In a shared cluster multi-tenancy environment, a tenant could create a HelmRelease that makes the controller panic, denying all other tenants from their Helm releases being reconciled. Patches are available in flux2 v0.32.0 and helm-controller v0.23.0.
AI Insight
LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.
Flux2 and helm-controller are vulnerable to denial of service via crafted HelmRelease inputs causing panic due to OOM in the Helm SDK's strvals package.
The vulnerability originates in the Helm SDK's strvals package, which parses string inputs into Go structures. Certain inputs can cause the creation of large arrays leading to out-of-memory (OOM) panic [3]. Helm controller integrates this SDK, making it susceptible to crafted HelmRelease definitions that trigger the panic [4].
An attacker with tenant-level access to a shared Kubernetes cluster can create a malicious HelmRelease that causes the helm-controller to panic and crash [1]. The controller stops processing all reconciliations, effectively denying service to other tenants. The attack requires the ability to apply HelmRelease resources but no additional privileges.
Successful exploitation results in a denial of service for Helm release reconciliation across the cluster. In multi-tenant environments, a single tenant can disrupt operations for all others [4]. The panic cannot be recovered from automatically; the controller must be restarted.
Patches are available in flux2 v0.32.0 and helm-controller v0.23.0, which update the Helm SDK to a fixed version [1]. Users should upgrade immediately. No workarounds are provided, but restricting HelmRelease creation to trusted tenants mitigates risk.
AI Insight generated on May 21, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.
Affected packages
Versions sourced from the GitHub Security Advisory.
| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
github.com/fluxcd/helm-controllerGo | >= 0.0.4, < 0.23.0 | 0.23.0 |
github.com/fluxcd/flux2Go | >= 0.0.17, < 0.32.0 | 0.32.0 |
Affected products
5- osv-coords4 versionspkg:bitnami/fluxpkg:bitnami/helmpkg:golang/github.com/fluxcd/flux2pkg:golang/github.com/fluxcd/helm-controller
>= 0.0.17, < 0.32.0+ 3 more
- (no CPE)range: >= 0.0.17, < 0.32.0
- (no CPE)range: >= 3.0.0, < 3.9.4
- (no CPE)range: >= 0.0.17, < 0.32.0
- (no CPE)range: >= 0.0.4, < 0.23.0
- fluxcd/flux2v5Range: >= 0.0.4, < 0.23.0
Patches
0No patches discovered yet.
Vulnerability mechanics
AI mechanics synthesis has not run for this CVE yet.
References
6- github.com/advisories/GHSA-p2g7-xwvr-rrw3ghsaADVISORY
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-36049ghsaADVISORY
- bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/detailghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- bugs.chromium.org/p/oss-fuzz/issues/detailghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- github.com/fluxcd/flux2/security/advisories/GHSA-p2g7-xwvr-rrw3ghsax_refsource_CONFIRMWEB
- github.com/helm/helm/security/advisories/GHSA-7hfp-qfw3-5jxhghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
News mentions
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