getHostByName Function Information Disclosure
Description
Helm is a tool that streamlines installing and managing Kubernetes applications.getHostByName is a Helm template function introduced in Helm v3. The function is able to accept a hostname and return an IP address for that hostname. To get the IP address the function performs a DNS lookup. The DNS lookup happens when used with helm install|upgrade|template or when the Helm SDK is used to render a chart. Information passed into the chart can be disclosed to the DNS servers used to lookup the IP address. For example, a malicious chart could inject getHostByName into a chart in order to disclose values to a malicious DNS server. The issue has been fixed in Helm 3.11.1. Prior to using a chart with Helm verify the getHostByName function is not being used in a template to disclose any information you do not want passed to DNS servers.
Affected packages
Versions sourced from the GitHub Security Advisory.
| Package | Affected versions | Patched versions |
|---|---|---|
helm.sh/helm/v3Go | >= 3.0.0, < 3.11.1 | 3.11.1 |
Affected products
1Patches
25abcf74227bfMerge pull request from GHSA-pwcw-6f5g-gxf8
7 files changed · +78 −10
cmd/helm/install.go+1 −0 modified@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ func addInstallFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, f *pflag.FlagSet, client *action.Instal f.BoolVar(&client.Atomic, "atomic", false, "if set, the installation process deletes the installation on failure. The --wait flag will be set automatically if --atomic is used") f.BoolVar(&client.SkipCRDs, "skip-crds", false, "if set, no CRDs will be installed. By default, CRDs are installed if not already present") f.BoolVar(&client.SubNotes, "render-subchart-notes", false, "if set, render subchart notes along with the parent") + f.BoolVar(&client.EnableDNS, "enable-dns", false, "enable DNS lookups when rendering templates") addValueOptionsFlags(f, valueOpts) addChartPathOptionsFlags(f, &client.ChartPathOptions)
cmd/helm/upgrade.go+2 −0 modified@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ func newUpgradeCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command { instClient.SubNotes = client.SubNotes instClient.Description = client.Description instClient.DependencyUpdate = client.DependencyUpdate + instClient.EnableDNS = client.EnableDNS rel, err := runInstall(args, instClient, valueOpts, out) if err != nil { @@ -232,6 +233,7 @@ func newUpgradeCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command { f.BoolVar(&client.SubNotes, "render-subchart-notes", false, "if set, render subchart notes along with the parent") f.StringVar(&client.Description, "description", "", "add a custom description") f.BoolVar(&client.DependencyUpdate, "dependency-update", false, "update dependencies if they are missing before installing the chart") + f.BoolVar(&client.EnableDNS, "enable-dns", false, "enable DNS lookups when rendering templates") addChartPathOptionsFlags(f, &client.ChartPathOptions) addValueOptionsFlags(f, valueOpts) bindOutputFlag(cmd, &outfmt)
pkg/action/action.go+9 −4 modified@@ -101,8 +101,9 @@ type Configuration struct { // // TODO: This function is badly in need of a refactor. // TODO: As part of the refactor the duplicate code in cmd/helm/template.go should be removed -// This code has to do with writing files to disk. -func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName, includeCrds bool, pr postrender.PostRenderer, dryRun bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) { +// +// This code has to do with writing files to disk. +func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName, includeCrds bool, pr postrender.PostRenderer, dryRun, enableDNS bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) { hs := []*release.Hook{} b := bytes.NewBuffer(nil) @@ -130,9 +131,13 @@ func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Valu if err != nil { return hs, b, "", err } - files, err2 = engine.RenderWithClient(ch, values, restConfig) + e := engine.New(restConfig) + e.EnableDNS = enableDNS + files, err2 = e.Render(ch, values) } else { - files, err2 = engine.Render(ch, values) + var e engine.Engine + e.EnableDNS = enableDNS + files, err2 = e.Render(ch, values) } if err2 != nil {
pkg/action/install.go+7 −5 modified@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ type Install struct { APIVersions chartutil.VersionSet // Used by helm template to render charts with .Release.IsUpgrade. Ignored if Dry-Run is false IsUpgrade bool + // Enable DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool // Used by helm template to add the release as part of OutputDir path // OutputDir/<ReleaseName> UseReleaseName bool @@ -257,7 +259,7 @@ func (i *Install) RunWithContext(ctx context.Context, chrt *chart.Chart, vals ma rel := i.createRelease(chrt, vals) var manifestDoc *bytes.Buffer - rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName, i.IncludeCRDs, i.PostRenderer, i.DryRun) + rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName, i.IncludeCRDs, i.PostRenderer, i.DryRun, i.EnableDNS) // Even for errors, attach this if available if manifestDoc != nil { rel.Manifest = manifestDoc.String() @@ -457,10 +459,10 @@ func (i *Install) failRelease(rel *release.Release, err error) (*release.Release // // Roughly, this will return an error if name is // -// - empty -// - too long -// - already in use, and not deleted -// - used by a deleted release, and i.Replace is false +// - empty +// - too long +// - already in use, and not deleted +// - used by a deleted release, and i.Replace is false func (i *Install) availableName() error { start := i.ReleaseName
pkg/action/upgrade.go+3 −1 modified@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ type Upgrade struct { DependencyUpdate bool // Lock to control raceconditions when the process receives a SIGTERM Lock sync.Mutex + // Enable DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool } type resultMessage struct { @@ -231,7 +233,7 @@ func (u *Upgrade) prepareUpgrade(name string, chart *chart.Chart, vals map[strin return nil, nil, err } - hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false, false, u.PostRenderer, u.DryRun) + hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false, false, u.PostRenderer, u.DryRun, u.EnableDNS) if err != nil { return nil, nil, err }
pkg/engine/engine.go+17 −0 modified@@ -42,6 +42,15 @@ type Engine struct { LintMode bool // the rest config to connect to the kubernetes api config *rest.Config + // EnableDNS tells the engine to allow DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool +} + +// New creates a new instance of Engine using the passed in rest config. +func New(config *rest.Config) Engine { + return Engine{ + config: config, + } } // Render takes a chart, optional values, and value overrides, and attempts to render the Go templates. @@ -189,6 +198,14 @@ func (e Engine) initFunMap(t *template.Template, referenceTpls map[string]render funcMap["lookup"] = NewLookupFunction(e.config) } + // When DNS lookups are not enabled override the sprig function and return + // an empty string. + if !e.EnableDNS { + funcMap["getHostByName"] = func(name string) string { + return "" + } + } + t.Funcs(funcMap) }
pkg/engine/engine_test.go+39 −0 modified@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package engine import ( "fmt" + "path" "strings" "sync" "testing" @@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ func TestRender(t *testing.T) { {Name: "templates/test2", Data: []byte("{{.Values.global.callme | lower }}")}, {Name: "templates/test3", Data: []byte("{{.noValue}}")}, {Name: "templates/test4", Data: []byte("{{toJson .Values}}")}, + {Name: "templates/test5", Data: []byte("{{getHostByName \"helm.sh\"}}")}, }, Values: map[string]interface{}{"outer": "DEFAULT", "inner": "DEFAULT"}, } @@ -117,6 +119,7 @@ func TestRender(t *testing.T) { "moby/templates/test2": "ishmael", "moby/templates/test3": "", "moby/templates/test4": `{"global":{"callme":"Ishmael"},"inner":"inn","outer":"spouter"}`, + "moby/templates/test5": "", } for name, data := range expect { @@ -200,6 +203,42 @@ func TestRenderInternals(t *testing.T) { } } +func TestRenderWIthDNS(t *testing.T) { + c := &chart.Chart{ + Metadata: &chart.Metadata{ + Name: "moby", + Version: "1.2.3", + }, + Templates: []*chart.File{ + {Name: "templates/test1", Data: []byte("{{getHostByName \"helm.sh\"}}")}, + }, + Values: map[string]interface{}{}, + } + + vals := map[string]interface{}{ + "Values": map[string]interface{}{}, + } + + v, err := chartutil.CoalesceValues(c, vals) + if err != nil { + t.Fatalf("Failed to coalesce values: %s", err) + } + + var e Engine + e.EnableDNS = true + out, err := e.Render(c, v) + if err != nil { + t.Errorf("Failed to render templates: %s", err) + } + + for _, val := range c.Templates { + fp := path.Join("moby", val.Name) + if out[fp] == "" { + t.Errorf("Expected IP address, got %q", out[fp]) + } + } +} + func TestParallelRenderInternals(t *testing.T) { // Make sure that we can use one Engine to run parallel template renders. e := new(Engine)
7 files changed · +78 −10
cmd/helm/install.go+1 −0 modified@@ -170,6 +170,7 @@ func addInstallFlags(cmd *cobra.Command, f *pflag.FlagSet, client *action.Instal f.BoolVar(&client.Atomic, "atomic", false, "if set, the installation process deletes the installation on failure. The --wait flag will be set automatically if --atomic is used") f.BoolVar(&client.SkipCRDs, "skip-crds", false, "if set, no CRDs will be installed. By default, CRDs are installed if not already present") f.BoolVar(&client.SubNotes, "render-subchart-notes", false, "if set, render subchart notes along with the parent") + f.BoolVar(&client.EnableDNS, "enable-dns", false, "enable DNS lookups when rendering templates") addValueOptionsFlags(f, valueOpts) addChartPathOptionsFlags(f, &client.ChartPathOptions)
cmd/helm/upgrade.go+2 −0 modified@@ -119,6 +119,7 @@ func newUpgradeCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command { instClient.SubNotes = client.SubNotes instClient.Description = client.Description instClient.DependencyUpdate = client.DependencyUpdate + instClient.EnableDNS = client.EnableDNS rel, err := runInstall(args, instClient, valueOpts, out) if err != nil { @@ -232,6 +233,7 @@ func newUpgradeCmd(cfg *action.Configuration, out io.Writer) *cobra.Command { f.BoolVar(&client.SubNotes, "render-subchart-notes", false, "if set, render subchart notes along with the parent") f.StringVar(&client.Description, "description", "", "add a custom description") f.BoolVar(&client.DependencyUpdate, "dependency-update", false, "update dependencies if they are missing before installing the chart") + f.BoolVar(&client.EnableDNS, "enable-dns", false, "enable DNS lookups when rendering templates") addChartPathOptionsFlags(f, &client.ChartPathOptions) addValueOptionsFlags(f, valueOpts) bindOutputFlag(cmd, &outfmt)
pkg/action/action.go+9 −4 modified@@ -101,8 +101,9 @@ type Configuration struct { // // TODO: This function is badly in need of a refactor. // TODO: As part of the refactor the duplicate code in cmd/helm/template.go should be removed -// This code has to do with writing files to disk. -func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName, includeCrds bool, pr postrender.PostRenderer, dryRun bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) { +// +// This code has to do with writing files to disk. +func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Values, releaseName, outputDir string, subNotes, useReleaseName, includeCrds bool, pr postrender.PostRenderer, dryRun, enableDNS bool) ([]*release.Hook, *bytes.Buffer, string, error) { hs := []*release.Hook{} b := bytes.NewBuffer(nil) @@ -130,9 +131,13 @@ func (cfg *Configuration) renderResources(ch *chart.Chart, values chartutil.Valu if err != nil { return hs, b, "", err } - files, err2 = engine.RenderWithClient(ch, values, restConfig) + e := engine.New(restConfig) + e.EnableDNS = enableDNS + files, err2 = e.Render(ch, values) } else { - files, err2 = engine.Render(ch, values) + var e engine.Engine + e.EnableDNS = enableDNS + files, err2 = e.Render(ch, values) } if err2 != nil {
pkg/action/install.go+7 −5 modified@@ -97,6 +97,8 @@ type Install struct { APIVersions chartutil.VersionSet // Used by helm template to render charts with .Release.IsUpgrade. Ignored if Dry-Run is false IsUpgrade bool + // Enable DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool // Used by helm template to add the release as part of OutputDir path // OutputDir/<ReleaseName> UseReleaseName bool @@ -257,7 +259,7 @@ func (i *Install) RunWithContext(ctx context.Context, chrt *chart.Chart, vals ma rel := i.createRelease(chrt, vals) var manifestDoc *bytes.Buffer - rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName, i.IncludeCRDs, i.PostRenderer, i.DryRun) + rel.Hooks, manifestDoc, rel.Info.Notes, err = i.cfg.renderResources(chrt, valuesToRender, i.ReleaseName, i.OutputDir, i.SubNotes, i.UseReleaseName, i.IncludeCRDs, i.PostRenderer, i.DryRun, i.EnableDNS) // Even for errors, attach this if available if manifestDoc != nil { rel.Manifest = manifestDoc.String() @@ -457,10 +459,10 @@ func (i *Install) failRelease(rel *release.Release, err error) (*release.Release // // Roughly, this will return an error if name is // -// - empty -// - too long -// - already in use, and not deleted -// - used by a deleted release, and i.Replace is false +// - empty +// - too long +// - already in use, and not deleted +// - used by a deleted release, and i.Replace is false func (i *Install) availableName() error { start := i.ReleaseName
pkg/action/upgrade.go+3 −1 modified@@ -103,6 +103,8 @@ type Upgrade struct { DependencyUpdate bool // Lock to control raceconditions when the process receives a SIGTERM Lock sync.Mutex + // Enable DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool } type resultMessage struct { @@ -231,7 +233,7 @@ func (u *Upgrade) prepareUpgrade(name string, chart *chart.Chart, vals map[strin return nil, nil, err } - hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false, false, u.PostRenderer, u.DryRun) + hooks, manifestDoc, notesTxt, err := u.cfg.renderResources(chart, valuesToRender, "", "", u.SubNotes, false, false, u.PostRenderer, u.DryRun, u.EnableDNS) if err != nil { return nil, nil, err }
pkg/engine/engine.go+17 −0 modified@@ -42,6 +42,15 @@ type Engine struct { LintMode bool // the rest config to connect to the kubernetes api config *rest.Config + // EnableDNS tells the engine to allow DNS lookups when rendering templates + EnableDNS bool +} + +// New creates a new instance of Engine using the passed in rest config. +func New(config *rest.Config) Engine { + return Engine{ + config: config, + } } // Render takes a chart, optional values, and value overrides, and attempts to render the Go templates. @@ -189,6 +198,14 @@ func (e Engine) initFunMap(t *template.Template, referenceTpls map[string]render funcMap["lookup"] = NewLookupFunction(e.config) } + // When DNS lookups are not enabled override the sprig function and return + // an empty string. + if !e.EnableDNS { + funcMap["getHostByName"] = func(name string) string { + return "" + } + } + t.Funcs(funcMap) }
pkg/engine/engine_test.go+39 −0 modified@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@ package engine import ( "fmt" + "path" "strings" "sync" "testing" @@ -89,6 +90,7 @@ func TestRender(t *testing.T) { {Name: "templates/test2", Data: []byte("{{.Values.global.callme | lower }}")}, {Name: "templates/test3", Data: []byte("{{.noValue}}")}, {Name: "templates/test4", Data: []byte("{{toJson .Values}}")}, + {Name: "templates/test5", Data: []byte("{{getHostByName \"helm.sh\"}}")}, }, Values: map[string]interface{}{"outer": "DEFAULT", "inner": "DEFAULT"}, } @@ -117,6 +119,7 @@ func TestRender(t *testing.T) { "moby/templates/test2": "ishmael", "moby/templates/test3": "", "moby/templates/test4": `{"global":{"callme":"Ishmael"},"inner":"inn","outer":"spouter"}`, + "moby/templates/test5": "", } for name, data := range expect { @@ -200,6 +203,42 @@ func TestRenderInternals(t *testing.T) { } } +func TestRenderWIthDNS(t *testing.T) { + c := &chart.Chart{ + Metadata: &chart.Metadata{ + Name: "moby", + Version: "1.2.3", + }, + Templates: []*chart.File{ + {Name: "templates/test1", Data: []byte("{{getHostByName \"helm.sh\"}}")}, + }, + Values: map[string]interface{}{}, + } + + vals := map[string]interface{}{ + "Values": map[string]interface{}{}, + } + + v, err := chartutil.CoalesceValues(c, vals) + if err != nil { + t.Fatalf("Failed to coalesce values: %s", err) + } + + var e Engine + e.EnableDNS = true + out, err := e.Render(c, v) + if err != nil { + t.Errorf("Failed to render templates: %s", err) + } + + for _, val := range c.Templates { + fp := path.Join("moby", val.Name) + if out[fp] == "" { + t.Errorf("Expected IP address, got %q", out[fp]) + } + } +} + func TestParallelRenderInternals(t *testing.T) { // Make sure that we can use one Engine to run parallel template renders. e := new(Engine)
Vulnerability mechanics
Generated by null/stub on May 9, 2026. Inputs: CWE entries + fix-commit diffs from this CVE's patches. Citations validated against bundle.
References
6- github.com/advisories/GHSA-pwcw-6f5g-gxf8ghsaADVISORY
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-25165ghsaADVISORY
- github.com/helm/helm/commit/293b50c65d4d56187cd4e2f390f0ada46b4c4737ghsaWEB
- github.com/helm/helm/commit/5abcf74227bfe8e5a3dbf105fe62e7b12deb58d2ghsax_refsource_MISCWEB
- github.com/helm/helm/security/advisories/GHSA-pwcw-6f5g-gxf8ghsax_refsource_CONFIRMWEB
- pkg.go.dev/vuln/GO-2023-1547ghsaWEB
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