Privilege Escalation in vm2 (CVE-2026-92958)
Summary
Vulnerability in vm2 (CVE-2026-92958). Data can be tampered with by attackers. Exploitable via DANGEROUS_BUILTINS. Mitigation: upgrade to 3.11.7 or later.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
Summary
NodeVM's builtin wildcard policy can allow sandboxed code to access fs/promises even when the embedder denies fs.
With the following configuration:
require: {
builtin: ['*', '-fs', '-child_process']
}
require('fs') and require('child_process') are blocked, but require('fs/promises') and require('node:fs/promises') are still available. This allows sandboxed code to create and write files on the host filesystem through the promise-based filesystem API.
Affected Mode
NodeVM.
Affected Configuration
new NodeVM({
require: {
builtin: ['*', '-fs', '-child_process']
}
});
This affects configurations where users rely on negative builtin entries such as -fs to deny filesystem access while using the '*' builtin wildcard.
Affected Files / Functions
lib/builtin.jsDANGEROUS_BUILTINSBUILTIN_MODULESmakeBuiltinsFromLegacyOptionsaddDefaultBuiltin
lib/resolver.jsResolver.resolveResolver.loadBuiltinModule
lib/setup-node-sandbox.jsrequireImpl
Root Cause
lib/builtin.js builds BUILTIN_MODULES from Node's builtin module list and filters dangerous/default-denied modules. In wildcard mode, negative entries are checked by exact name:
if (builtins.indexOf(`-${name}`) === -1) {
addDefaultBuiltin(res, name, hostRequire);
}
This means -fs removes only the exact builtin named fs. It does not remove builtin subpaths such as fs/promises.
There i…
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-2026-92958 has been found in vm2.
Attackers can target a specific entry point like DANGEROUS_BUILTINS over the network to misuse the product.
Data can be tampered with by attackers. CVSS score: 8.5/10.
What to do: upgrade vm2 to 3.11.7 or later.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "vm2 CVE-2026-92958" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2026-92958 (vm2) — CWE-269 / CVSS v3 8.5
Attack vector: remote (network-reachable) / no user interaction
Attack surface: DANGEROUS_BUILTINS / BUILTIN_MODULES / makeBuiltinsFromLegacyOptions / addDefaultBuiltin
Patched: 3.11.7 — 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.
A vulnerability (CWE-269) exists in vm2. Attackers reach the vulnerable code path via DANGEROUS_BUILTINS.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of vm2. Attack surface: DANGEROUS_BUILTINS / BUILTIN_MODULES / makeBuiltinsFromLegacyOptions / addDefaultBuiltin.
Severity: High (CVSS 8.5/10). Data can be tampered with by attackers.
Update to 3.11.7.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
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
-
1Identify 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。 -
2Apply patch patch
Upgrade vm2 to 3.11.7ステージング環境で 3.11.7 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。
-
3Post-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
References
- web github.com
- web vulncheck.com
- web nvd.nist.gov
- web github.com
- web github.com
- web github.com