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vm2 Node.js Library Vulnerabilities Enable Sandbox Escape and Arbitrary Code Execution

criticalVulnerabilityimportance 60CVE-2026-24118CVE-2026-24120CVE-2023-37466CVE-2026-24781CVE-2026-26332CVE-2026-26956CVE-2026-43997CVE-2026-43999CVE-2026-44005CVE-2026-44006CVE-2026-44007CVE-2026-44008CVE-2026-44009CVE-2026-22709
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Tagscve-2026-24118cve-2026-24120cve-2023-37466cve-2026-24781cve-2026-26332vulnerability

Vulnerabilities mentionedAll →

CVEVulnerabilityCVSSEPSSFlagsAffectedExposurePublished
CVE-2023-37466
vm2 is an advanced vm/sandbox for Node.js.

vm2 is an advanced vm/sandbox for Node.js. The library contains critical security issues and should not be used for production. The maintenance of the project has been discontinued. In vm2 for versions up to 3.9.19, `Promise` handler sanitization can be bypassed with the `@@species` accessor property allowing attackers to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code, potentially allowing remote code execution inside the context of vm2 sandbox. Version 3.10.0 contains a patch for the issue.

NVD description · AI analysis pending		10.04% PoC
  • vm2 project vm2
—
CVE-2026-22709
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js.

vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. In vm2 prior to version 3.10.2, `Promise.prototype.then` `Promise.prototype.catch` callback sanitization can be bypassed. This allows attackers to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code. In lib/setup-sandbox.js, the callback function of `localPromise.prototype.then` is sanitized, but `globalPromise.prototype.then` is not sanitized. The return value of async functions is `globalPromise` object. Version 3.10.2 fixes the issue.

NVD description · AI analysis pending		10.01% PoC
  • vm2 project vm2
—
CVE-2026-26332
+4 in the same advisory: …24781 …26956 …24118 …24120
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js.

vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to version 3.11.0, SuppressedError allows attackers to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code. This issue has been patched in version 3.11.0.

NVD description · AI analysis pending		10.0
group max
<1% PoC
  • vm2 project vm2
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CVE-2026-43997
+6 in the same advisory: …44005 …44006 …43999 …44008 …44009 …44007
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js.

vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to 3.11.0, it is possible to obtain the host Object. There are various ways to use the host Object, to escape the sandbox, one example would be using HostObject.getOwnPropertySymbols to obtain Symbol(nodejs.util.inspect.custom). This vulnerability is fixed in 3.11.0.

NVD description · AI analysis pending		10.0
group max
<1% PoC
  • vm2 project vm2
—
Full article633 words · extracted from thehackernews.com · click to collapse

Ravie LakshmananMay 07, 2026Vulnerability / Software Security

A dozen critical security vulnerabilities have been disclosed in the vm2 Node.js library that could be exploited by bad actors to break out of the sandbox and execute arbitrary code on susceptible systems.

vm2 is an open-source library used to run untrusted JavaScript code inside a secure sandbox by intercepting and proxying JavaScript objects to prevent sandboxed code from accessing the host environment.

The security flaws are listed below -

  • CVE-2026-24118 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability that allows sandbox escape via "__lookupGetter__" and permits an attacker to run arbitrary code on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.10.4, patches in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-24120 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A patch bypass for CVE-2023-37466 (CVSS score: 9.8) that could allow attackers to escape the sandbox through the species property of promise objects and execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.10.3, patched in 3.10.5)
  • CVE-2026-24781 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability that allows sandbox escape via the "inspect" function and permits an attacker to run arbitrary code on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.10.3, patches in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-26332 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability that allows sandbox escape via "SuppressedError" and permits an attacker to run arbitrary code on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.10.4, patches in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-26956 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A protection mechanism failure vulnerability that allows sandbox escape with arbitrary code execution by triggering a TypeError produced by Symbol-to-string coercion. (Affects version 3.10.4, confirmed on Node.js 25.6.1, patched in 3.10.5)
  • CVE-2026-43997 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A code injection vulnerability that allows an attacker to obtain the host Object and escape the sandbox, leading to arbitrary code execution. (Affects versions <= 3.10.5, patched in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-43999 (CVSS score: 9.9) - A vulnerability that allows a bypass of NodeVM's built-in allowlist and enables an attacker to load excluded builtins like child_process and achieve remote code execution. (Affects version 3.10.5, patched in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-44005 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A vulnerability that allows attacker-controlled JavaScript to escape the sandbox and enable prototype pollution. (Affects versions 3.9.6-3.10.5, patched in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-44006 (CVSS score: 10.0) - A code injection vulnerability via "BaseHandler.getPrototypeOf" that enables sandbox escape and remote code execution. (Affects versions <= 3.10.5, patched in 3.11.0)
  • CVE-2026-44007 (CVSS score: 9.1) - An improper access control vulnerability that allows sandbox escape and execution of arbitrary operating system commands on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.11.0, patched in 3.11.1)
  • CVE-2026-44008 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability that allows sandbox escape via "neutralizeArraySpeciesBatch()" and permits an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.11.1, patched in 3.11.2)
  • CVE-2026-44009 (CVSS score: 9.8) - A vulnerability that allows sandbox escape via a null proto exception and permits an attacker to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying host. (Affects versions <= 3.11.1, patched in 3.11.2)

 A security researcher using the alias "XmiliaH" has been credited with discovering and reporting a significant chunk of the flaws (CVE-2026-24118, CVE-2026-24120, CVE-2026-24781, CVE-2026-44008, and CVE-2026-44009), while "0x5t" (CVE-2026-26956) "c0rydoras" (CVE-2026-43997, CVE-2026-44006), "bugbunny-research" (CVE-2026-43999), "hongancalif" (CVE-2026-44005), and Akshat Sinha (CVE-2026-44007)  have been acknowledged for reporting the rest.

The disclosure comes a couple of months after vm2 maintainer Patrik Simek released patches for another critical sandbox escape flaw (CVE-2026-22709, CVSS score: 9.8) that could lead to arbitrary code execution on the underlying host system.

The string of newly identified sandbox escapes illustrates the challenge of securely isolating untrusted code in JavaScript-based sandbox environments, with Simek acknowledging previously that new bypasses will likely be discovered in the future. Users of vm2 are advised to update to the latest version (3.11.2) for optimal protection.

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Text extracted automatically; images, tables and formatting may be missing. Original: https://thehackernews.com/2026/05/vm2-nodejs-library-vulnerabilities.html