FKIE_CVE-2026-33940

Vulnerability from fkie_nvd - Published: 2026-03-27 22:16 - Updated: 2026-03-31 17:51
Severity ?
8.1 (High) - CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Summary
Handlebars provides the power necessary to let users build semantic templates. In versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.8, a crafted object placed in the template context can bypass all conditional guards in `resolvePartial()` and cause `invokePartial()` to return `undefined`. The Handlebars runtime then treats the unresolved partial as a source that needs to be compiled, passing the crafted object to `env.compile()`. Because the object is a valid Handlebars AST containing injected code, the generated JavaScript executes arbitrary commands on the server. The attack requires the adversary to control a value that can be returned by a dynamic partial lookup. Version 4.7.9 fixes the issue. Some workarounds are available. First, use the runtime-only build (`require('handlebars/runtime')`). Without `compile()`, the fallback compilation path in `invokePartial` is unreachable. Second, sanitize context data before rendering: Ensure no value in the context is a non-primitive object that could be passed to a dynamic partial. Third, avoid dynamic partial lookups (`{{> (lookup ...)}}`) when context data is user-controlled.
References
security-advisories@github.comhttps://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/commit/68d8df5a88e0a26fe9e6084c5c6aaebe67b07da2Patch
security-advisories@github.comhttps://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/releases/tag/v4.7.9Release Notes
security-advisories@github.comhttps://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/security/advisories/GHSA-xhpv-hc6g-r9c6Exploit, Vendor Advisory
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
handlebarsjs handlebars *
To clipboard 

{
  "configurations": [
    {
      "nodes": [
        {
          "cpeMatch": [
            {
              "criteria": "cpe:2.3:a:handlebarsjs:handlebars:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:*",
              "matchCriteriaId": "A9D1F9A7-8359-4C3F-9932-4A085094F388",
              "versionEndExcluding": "4.7.9",
              "versionStartIncluding": "4.0.0",
              "vulnerable": true
            }
          ],
          "negate": false,
          "operator": "OR"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "cveTags": [],
  "descriptions": [
    {
      "lang": "en",
      "value": "Handlebars provides the power necessary to let users build semantic templates. In versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.8, a crafted object placed in the template context can bypass all conditional guards in `resolvePartial()` and cause `invokePartial()` to return `undefined`. The Handlebars runtime then treats the unresolved partial as a source that needs to be compiled, passing the crafted object to `env.compile()`. Because the object is a valid Handlebars AST containing injected code, the generated JavaScript executes arbitrary commands on the server. The attack requires the adversary to control a value that can be returned by a dynamic partial lookup. Version 4.7.9 fixes the issue. Some workarounds are available. First, use the runtime-only build (`require(\u0027handlebars/runtime\u0027)`). Without `compile()`,  the fallback compilation path in `invokePartial` is unreachable. Second, sanitize context data before rendering: Ensure no value in the context is a non-primitive  object that could be passed to a dynamic partial. Third, avoid dynamic partial lookups (`{{\u003e (lookup ...)}}`) when context data is user-controlled."
    }
  ],
  "id": "CVE-2026-33940",
  "lastModified": "2026-03-31T17:51:04.210",
  "metrics": {
    "cvssMetricV31": [
      {
        "cvssData": {
          "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
          "attackVector": "NETWORK",
          "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
          "baseScore": 8.1,
          "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
          "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
          "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
          "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
          "scope": "UNCHANGED",
          "userInteraction": "NONE",
          "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
          "version": "3.1"
        },
        "exploitabilityScore": 2.2,
        "impactScore": 5.9,
        "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
        "type": "Secondary"
      }
    ]
  },
  "published": "2026-03-27T22:16:21.030",
  "references": [
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "tags": [
        "Patch"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/commit/68d8df5a88e0a26fe9e6084c5c6aaebe67b07da2"
    },
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "tags": [
        "Release Notes"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/releases/tag/v4.7.9"
    },
    {
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "tags": [
        "Exploit",
        "Vendor Advisory"
      ],
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/security/advisories/GHSA-xhpv-hc6g-r9c6"
    }
  ],
  "sourceIdentifier": "security-advisories@github.com",
  "vulnStatus": "Analyzed",
  "weaknesses": [
    {
      "description": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-94"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "CWE-843"
        }
      ],
      "source": "security-advisories@github.com",
      "type": "Primary"
    }
  ]
}


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