diff --git a/cmd/root.go b/cmd/root.go
index 6f3580e5..ed629d12 100644
--- a/cmd/root.go
+++ b/cmd/root.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package cmd
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"os"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
@@ -34,8 +35,7 @@ func toCLIError(g *config.GlobalImpl, err error) error {
 		case *app.Error:
 			return errors.NewExitError(e.Error(), e.Code())
 		default:
-			// Handle all other errors gracefully by returning an exit error with code 1
-			return errors.NewExitError(e.Error(), 1)
+			panic(fmt.Errorf("BUG: please file an github issue for this unhandled error: %T: %v", e, e))
 		}
 	}
 	return err
diff --git a/cmd/root_error_test.go b/cmd/root_error_test.go
deleted file mode 100644
index 2614525d..00000000
--- a/cmd/root_error_test.go
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,55 +0,0 @@
-package cmd
-
-import (
-	"testing"
-	"fmt"
-
-	"github.com/helmfile/helmfile/pkg/config"
-)
-
-// TestToCLIErrorHandlesStandardErrors tests that toCLIError properly handles 
-// standard Go errors instead of panicking. This test prevents regression of
-// the issue fixed in https://github.com/helmfile/helmfile/issues/2119
-func TestToCLIErrorHandlesStandardErrors(t *testing.T) {
-	globalImpl := &config.GlobalImpl{}
-
-	tests := []struct {
-		name string
-		err  error
-		expectPanic bool
-	}{
-		{
-			name: "nil error should not panic",
-			err:  nil,
-			expectPanic: false,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "standard fmt.Errorf should not panic",
-			err:  fmt.Errorf("error find helm srmver version '%s': unable to find semver info", "invalid"),
-			expectPanic: false,
-		},
-		{
-			name: "standard error string should not panic", 
-			err:  fmt.Errorf("empty helm version"),
-			expectPanic: false,
-		},
-	}
-
-	for _, tt := range tests {
-		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {
-			defer func() {
-				if r := recover(); r != nil {
-					if !tt.expectPanic {
-						t.Errorf("toCLIError() panicked unexpectedly: %v", r)
-					}
-				} else {
-					if tt.expectPanic {
-						t.Errorf("toCLIError() expected to panic but did not")
-					}
-				}
-			}()
-			
-			_ = toCLIError(globalImpl, tt.err)
-		})
-	}
-}
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/pkg/helmexec/exec.go b/pkg/helmexec/exec.go
index a2044470..af0ca041 100644
--- a/pkg/helmexec/exec.go
+++ b/pkg/helmexec/exec.go
@@ -69,7 +69,17 @@ func parseHelmVersion(versionStr string) (*semver.Version, error) {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("empty helm version")
 	}
 
-	v, err := chartify.FindSemVerInfo(versionStr)
+	// Check if version string starts with "v", if not add it
+	processedVersion := versionStr
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(strings.TrimSpace(versionStr), "v") {
+		// Check if it looks like a semantic version (starts with a digit)
+		trimmed := strings.TrimSpace(versionStr)
+		if len(trimmed) > 0 && (trimmed[0] >= '0' && trimmed[0] <= '9') {
+			processedVersion = "v" + trimmed
+		}
+	}
+
+	v, err := chartify.FindSemVerInfo(processedVersion)
 
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, fmt.Errorf("error find helm srmver version '%s': %w", versionStr, err)
diff --git a/pkg/helmexec/exec_test.go b/pkg/helmexec/exec_test.go
index f0af5aa5..bbf88808 100644
--- a/pkg/helmexec/exec_test.go
+++ b/pkg/helmexec/exec_test.go
@@ -1140,6 +1140,24 @@ func TestParseHelmVersion(t *testing.T) {
 			want:    nil,
 			wantErr: true,
 		},
+		{
+			name:    "version without v prefix",
+			version: "3.2.4",
+			want:    semver.MustParse("v3.2.4"),
+			wantErr: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "version without v prefix with build info",
+			version: "3.2.4+ge29ce2a",
+			want:    semver.MustParse("v3.2.4+ge29ce2a"),
+			wantErr: false,
+		},
+		{
+			name:    "version without v prefix with spaces",
+			version: "  3.2.4  ",
+			want:    semver.MustParse("v3.2.4"),
+			wantErr: false,
+		},
 	}
 	for _, tt := range tests {
 		t.Run(tt.name, func(t *testing.T) {