diff --git a/kyaml/filesys/fsnode.go b/kyaml/filesys/fsnode.go
index a5574b561..608b8e38a 100644
--- a/kyaml/filesys/fsnode.go
+++ b/kyaml/filesys/fsnode.go
@@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ func (n *fsNode) DebugPrint() {
 	})
 }
 
-var legalFileNamePattern = regexp.MustCompile("^[a-zA-Z0-9-_.]+$")
+var legalFileNamePattern = regexp.MustCompile("^[a-zA-Z0-9-_.:]+$")
 
 // This rules enforced here should be simpler and tighter
 // than what's allowed on a real OS.
diff --git a/kyaml/filesys/fsnode_test.go b/kyaml/filesys/fsnode_test.go
index 917c05beb..c73b4888e 100644
--- a/kyaml/filesys/fsnode_test.go
+++ b/kyaml/filesys/fsnode_test.go
@@ -34,6 +34,12 @@ var topCases = []pathCase{
 		arg:    ParentDir,
 		errStr: "illegal name '..' in file creation",
 	},
+	{
+		what: "colon",
+		arg:  "a:b",
+		name: "a:b",
+		path: "a:b",
+	},
 	{
 		what:   "empty",
 		arg:    "",