---
title: "CVE-2026-113709: Argo CD: A Kustomize Helm config home can run commands in the repo-server"
url: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-113709/
description: "CVE-2026-113709 (argoproj argo-cd): Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. From 2.1.0 until 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and…"
type: vulnerability-record
section: "Security Digest"
date_published: 2026-10-20
date_modified: 2026-10-21
publisher: erroneo.us
author: erroneo.us Security Desk
cve: "CVE-2026-113709"
kev: false
cvss: 9.9
epss: 0.00424
license: All rights reserved. Quote with attribution and a link.
---

# CVE-2026-113709: Argo CD: A Kustomize Helm config home can run commands in the repo-server

**Signal:** Critical, preconditions apply. Severe if exploited, but exploitation needs conditions that may not apply to you. (Computed from CISA KEV, EPSS and CVSS; not an editorial verdict.)

## Should you act?

- No confirmed exploitation. It is not in CISA’s KEV catalog and CISA’s SSVC assessment records no known exploitation. That can change quickly after a public write-up; re-check if you are affected.
- EPSS 0.4% , percentile 36: FIRST’s model estimates a 0.4% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 36% of all scored CVEs (low). EPSS is a probability, not a verdict.
- Needs an account (low (any account)). Exposure depends on who can log in.
- Editorial verdict: Patch this week. Argo CD: Repo-Server RCE and AppProject Bypass (Oct 2026) — Upgrade Argo CD to a patched 3.3, 3.4 or 3.5 release this week, and today on shared instances where people you do not fully trust can push to tracked repos or merely view an Application.

## What it is

Argo CD is a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes. From 2.1.0 until 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and 3.6.0-rc2, when an operator has enabled --enable-helm for kustomize build, helmGlobals.configHome can point Helm's config and data directories at a repository-controlled location. Helm automatically loads a downloader plugin from /.data/plugins without a separate plugin-install step and executes its program inside argocd-repo-server when a helmCharts repository URL uses the plugin's protocol. The command runs as the repo-server user and can read repository credentials and other process-accessible data. An attacker can commit the Kustomization and plugin to a Git repository that an Application builds or upload the files through POST /api/v1/applications/manifestsWithFiles, also exposed by argocd app diff --local --server-side-generate. The upload path requires only Application get permission on an existing Application, without Application update or sync permission or repository write access. Both delivery paths require prior operator enablement of --enable-helm; deployments that do not enable it are not affected. Kustomize 4.1.0 first passed helmGlobals.configHome through to Helm. This issue is fixed in versions 3.3.15, 3.4.10, 3.5.4, and 3.6.0-rc2.

## Affected products (CVE record)

- argoproj argo-cd: >= 2.1.0, < 3.3.15, >= 3.4.0-rc1, < 3.4.10, >= 3.5.0-rc1, < 3.5.4, >= 3.6.0-rc1, < 3.6.0-rc2

## Severity

- GitHub_M CVSS 3.1: 9.9 `CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`

## Exploitation

- CISA KEV: not listed (no confirmed in-the-wild exploitation known to CISA).
- CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation none , automatable no , technical impact total .
- FIRST EPSS (model of 2026-10-21): 0.42% probability of exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 36.

## Sources

- [CVE.org record CVE-2026-113709](https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-113709)
- [NVD entry CVE-2026-113709](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-113709)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-fw5c-w8rc-j7fx)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/security/advisories/GHSA-j6cw-g6p4-7hch)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/pull/6059)
- [github.com](https://github.com/kubernetes-sigs/kustomize/pull/3784)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/commit/b6d5c23bce2f8a46c52975ba438a3b93d242d96c)
- [argo-cd.readthedocs.io](https://argo-cd.readthedocs.io/en/stable/user-guide/kustomize/#kustomizing-helm-charts)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.3.15)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.4.10)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.5.4)
- [github.com](https://github.com/argoproj/argo-cd/releases/tag/v3.6.0-rc2)

---
Source page: https://erroneo.us/security/cve/CVE-2026-113709/ · Security Digest: https://erroneo.us/security/ · More: https://erroneo.us/llms.txt