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CVE-2026-43998 high CVSS 8.5

Vulnerability in vm2 (CVE-2026-43998)

Summary

Vulnerability in vm2 (CVE-2026-43998). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. Exploitable via require.root. Mitigation: upgrade to 3.11.0 or later.

Original description

The description as published by the source.

Summary

NodeVM's require.root path restriction can be bypassed using filesystem symlinks, allowing sandboxed code to load modules from outside the allowed root directory in host context. Because path validation uses path.resolve() (which does not dereference symlinks) but module loading uses Node's native require() (which does), an attacker can load arbitrary host-realm modules and achieve remote code execution.

Severity

High (CVSS 3.1: 8.5)

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

  • Attack Vector: Network — sandboxed code is typically received from external sources (user-submitted scripts, plugin code)
  • Attack Complexity: High — requires symlinks inside the allowed root that point outside it; common with pnpm, npm workspaces, and npm link but not guaranteed in all deployments
  • Privileges Required: Low — attacker needs only the ability to submit code to the sandbox, which is the intended use case
  • User Interaction: None
  • Scope: Changed — the vulnerability is in the sandbox boundary; impact is on the host system
  • Confidentiality Impact: High — arbitrary file read via host command execution
  • Integrity Impact: High — arbitrary command execution on the host
  • Availability Impact: High — arbitrary command execution on the host

Affected Component

  • lib/resolver-compat.js — CustomResolver.isPathAllowed() (line 53-60)
  • lib/resolver-compat.js — CustomResolver.loadJS() (line 62-66)
  • lib/filesystem.js — `Defa…

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD GitHub Advisory

Auto-generated summary

Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.

A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2026-43998 has been found in vm2.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like require.root over the network to misuse the product.
Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover. CVSS score: 8.5/10.
What to do: upgrade vm2 to 3.11.0 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "vm2 CVE-2026-43998" on the vendor's site.

CVE-2026-43998 (vm2) — CWE-59 / CVSS v3 8.5
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / no user interaction
Attack surface: require.root / isPathAllowed / realpath / readlink
Patched: 3.11.0 — apply immediately
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.

❓ What is the problem

A vulnerability (CWE-59) exists in vm2. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via require.root.

📍 Affected scope

Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of vm2. Attack surface: require.root / isPathAllowed / realpath / readlink.

🔥 Severity

Severity: High (CVSS 8.5/10). Successful exploitation can lead to full system takeover.

🔧 How to fix

Update to 3.11.0.

🛡️ Workaround

Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.

🔍 Detection

Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'vm2' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.

Response actions

Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order

  1. 1
    Identify exposure identify 
    grep -r 'vm2' . | grep -v node_modules

    リポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で vm2 を grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。

  2. 2
    Apply patch patch 
    Upgrade vm2 to 3.11.0

    ステージング環境で 3.11.0 に上げて回帰テスト → 本番反映。回帰テストはアプリの主要ハッピーパスを含めること。

  3. 3
    Post-deployment verification verify 
    Confirm patched version is live in production

    パッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。

Affected packages

npm vm2
[{"type":"SEMVER","events":[{"introduced":"3.10.5"},{"fixed":"3.11.0"}]}]

References

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