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GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m CVE-2023-30547

vm2 Sandbox Escape vulnerability

Critical npm
Severity
9.8 / 10
Critical · CVSS 3.1
Exploit chance (EPSS)
72.97%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Higher than 99.45% of scored vulnerabilities.
Known exploited
No
Not in CISA's catalog
Weakness
CWE-74 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')
Fix
3.9.17
Upgrade vm2 to this version or later

Description

There exists a vulnerability in exception sanitization of vm2 for versions up to 3.9.16, allowing attackers to raise an unsanitized host exception inside handleException() which can be used to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code in host context.

Impact

A threat actor can bypass the sandbox protections to gain remote code execution rights on the host running the sandbox.

Patches

This vulnerability was patched in the release of version 3.9.17 of vm2.

Workarounds

None.

References

PoC - https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/381b230b04936dd4d74aaf90cc8bb244

For more information

If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:

  • Open an issue in VM2

Thanks to Xion (SeungHyun Lee) of KAIST Hacking Lab for disclosing this vulnerability.

Affected versions

npm

PackageVulnerableFixed in
vm2
< 3.9.17
3.9.17

How to fix

Move to the fixed version or later with your package manager, update the lockfile, and run your tests. If the package only arrives through another dependency, upgrade that dependency first. If none of its releases pulls a fixed version yet, force the version with your package manager's override.

vm2 npm → 3.9.17

npm
npm install vm2@3.9.17
yarn
yarn add vm2@3.9.17
pnpm
pnpm add vm2@3.9.17

Severity breakdown

CVSS 3.1 9.8

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack vector
Network
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

Weakness

CWE-74: Improper Neutralization of Special Elements in Output Used by a Downstream Component ('Injection')

The product constructs all or part of a command, data structure, or record using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify how it is parsed or interpreted when it is sent to a downstream component.

How to prevent it
  • Requirements: Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
  • Implementation: Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter control-plane syntax from all input.

References

Timeline

  1. Published
  2. Last updated by the source
  3. Latest EPSS score
AdvisorySeverityWhy it's related
GHSA-489w-w794-jq94
vm2: NodeVM zlib Buffers expose pooled host memory across the VM boundary
High Also affects vm2
GHSA-2v2p-6j97-cjg9
vm2: Host Promise rejection from an exposed constructor can terminate the vm2 host process
Medium Also affects vm2
GHSA-5h3f-q97h-ccvc
vm2: NodeVM custom resolution bypasses external path boundaries
Critical Also affects vm2
GHSA-pq68-rvw4-xp4r
vm2 contains a sandbox escape vulnerability
Critical Also affects vm2
GHSA-f8gf-w286-fmq2
vm2: `allowAsync: false` can be bypassed through Promise thenable assimilation in VM and NodeVM
High Also affects vm2
GHSA-6rh5-qq4q-97xh
vm2: NodeVM builtin denylist bypass via fs/promises despite -fs, allowing host filesystem writes
High Also affects vm2
GHSA-8686-vhfx-7r3j
vm2: NodeVM node:-prefixed negative builtin deny bypass exposes child_process
Critical Also affects vm2
GHSA-wjwh-qqvp-g4p4
vm2 sandbox escape via WebAssembly.compileStreaming Promise species bypass
Critical Also affects vm2
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