vm2 CLI provides no sandbox isolation - host-realm require() is reachable from sandboxed scripts

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

8.6 · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2026-92950: 0.20% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 9.53 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Summary The vm2 command-line tool installed by npm install -g vm2 and documented in the README's "CLI" section runs the supplied script under NodeVM with require:{external:true} and no root / context / builtin configured. With these defaults the resolver loads every relative or absolute require() target through the host require() function, executing the attacker's module body in the host Node.js process before the result is ever proxied back into the sandbox. A single attacker-controlled file passed to vm2 ./script.js can call require(filename) to re-execute itself in host realm and reach fs, childprocess, etc. The documented sandbox runner is therefore equivalent to node ./script.js. No additional files, flags, or user interaction are required. Details The vulnerability lets a malicious sandboxed script - the file argument to the documented vm2 <file CLI - execute arbitrary code in the host Node.js process, crossing the sandbox → host boundary that vm2 is meant to enforce.…

Published by the source

1 Oct 2026, 15:40 UTC

Last modified by the source

1 Oct 2026, 16:00 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 13:06 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Amended from osv record GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p

3. Revision 1 · created · 23 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2026-92950

Advisory: vm2 CLI provides no sandbox isolation - host-realm require() is reachable from sandboxed scripts
IDs: CVE-2026-92950, GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2026-92950 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 13:06 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.6)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: vm2 3.11.7. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm vm2: affected <= 3.11.6; fixed in 3.11.7

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls vm2 --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on vm2.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p lists affected ranges: npm vm2 >=0 <=3.11.6)
- Verified: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p (OSV record GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p lists affected ranges: npm vm2 >=0 <3.11.7 (fixed))

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