diff --git a/charmhelpers/contrib/templating/contexts.py b/charmhelpers/contrib/templating/contexts.py
index a491fdb13..372eca344 100644
--- a/charmhelpers/contrib/templating/contexts.py
+++ b/charmhelpers/contrib/templating/contexts.py
@@ -118,7 +118,7 @@ def juju_state_to_yaml(yaml_path, namespace_separator=':',
 
     if os.path.exists(yaml_path):
         with open(yaml_path, "r") as existing_vars_file:
-            existing_vars = yaml.load(existing_vars_file.read())
+            existing_vars = yaml.safe_load(existing_vars_file.read())
     else:
         with open(yaml_path, "w+"):
             pass
diff --git a/tools/charm_helpers_sync/charm_helpers_sync.py b/tools/charm_helpers_sync/charm_helpers_sync.py
index 107ab6d07..09e20c6a0 100755
--- a/tools/charm_helpers_sync/charm_helpers_sync.py
+++ b/tools/charm_helpers_sync/charm_helpers_sync.py
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ def parse_config(conf_file):
     if not os.path.isfile(conf_file):
         logging.error('Invalid config file: %s.' % conf_file)
         return False
-    return yaml.load(open(conf_file).read())
+    return yaml.safe_load(open(conf_file).read())
 
 
 def clone_helpers(work_dir, repo):