CVE-2023-40026 Path traversal allows leaking out-of-bound Helm charts from Argo CD repo-server

What is CVE-2023-40026?

CVE-2023-40026 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Argoproj Argo Cd, published on 27 Sep 2023.

Official description

Argo CD is a declarative continuous deployment framework for Kubernetes. In Argo CD versions prior to 2.3 (starting at least in v0.1.0, but likely in any version using Helm before 2.3), using a specifically-crafted Helm file could reference external Helm charts handled by the same repo-server to leak values, or files from the referenced Helm Chart. This was possible because Helm paths were predictable. The vulnerability worked by adding a Helm chart that referenced Helm resources from predictable paths. Because the paths of Helm charts were predictable and available on an instance of repo-server, it was possible to reference and then render the values and resources from other existing Helm charts regardless of permissions. While generally, secrets are not stored in these files, it was nevertheless possible to reference any values from these charts. This issue was fixed in Argo CD 2.3 and subsequent versions by randomizing Helm paths. User's still using Argo CD 2.3 or below are advised to update to a supported version. If this is not possible, disabling Helm chart rendering, or using an additional repo-server for each Helm chart would prevent possible exploitation.

Weakness: CWE-22

Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-40026?

6 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/argoproj/argo-cd and github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/v2. It affects 1 product.

Products include Argoproj Argo Cd.

How do I fix CVE-2023-40026?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

Is CVE-2023-40026 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-40026 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Other vulnerabilities in Argoproj Argo Cd

• CVE-2025-55190 Argo CD: Project API Token Exposes Repository Credentials Critical 10.0
• CVE-2022-29165 Argo CD will blindly trust JWT claims if anonymous access is enabled Critical 10.0
• CVE-2023-40029 Cluster secret might leak in cluster details page in Argo CD Critical 9.9
• CVE-2022-24768 Improper access control allows admin privilege escalation in Argo CD Critical 9.9
• CVE-2024-21652 Argo CD vulnerable to Bypassing of Brute Force Protection via Application Crash and In-Memory Data Loss Critical 9.8

All Argoproj Argo Cd vulnerabilities

Sources

• CVE record
• NVD
• OSV
• GitHub advisory
• How this page is made

Also known as GHSA-6jqw-jwf5-rp8h, GO-2023-2085.