CVE-2026-92941: vm2 NodeVM sandbox escape via TLS trust store manipulation

CVE-2026-92941 · Severity: critical · CVSS 10 · Published 2026-09-17

vm2 is a popular Node.js library that creates isolated JavaScript sandbox environments. A critical vulnerability in versions 3.11.3 through 3.11.6 allows attackers with access to allowed TLS and URL modules to manipulate the host process's trusted certificate authorities. This enables an attacker to inject a fraudulent CA certificate into the host, causing subsequent HTTPS connections to accept attacker-controlled certificates and potentially intercept sensitive credentials, API tokens, and application data.

Technologies: vm2 (npm). Vendors: npm.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-92941 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-92941 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-92941?
Critical severity, with a CVSS score of 10, published 17 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
vm2 (npm) >= 3.11.3, <= 3.11.6, SEMVER:introduced=3.11.3,fixed=3.11.7.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-92941?
Yes. vm2 (npm): upgrade to 3.11.7 or later. Junglewise finds every place you run it, drafts the upgrade and applies it once you approve.
How is CVE-2026-92941 attacked?
It is attacked over the network, in a software library.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-92941?
Check whether you run vm2 (npm) at an affected version. Junglewise does that check for you around the clock: connect your code, cloud and domains, and it matches new vulnerabilities like this one against what you actually run and tells you when one reaches you.

How to fix

  • vm2 (npm): upgrade to 3.11.7 or later
    npm install vm2@3.11.7

Technical details

The vulnerability stems from improper sandbox boundary enforcement in the builtin loader (lib/builtin.js). Although the tls module is exposed as read-only to the sandbox, the module's functions still execute against the host process's global state. Specifically, tls.setDefaultCACertificates() modifies the process-wide default CA list. An attacker can exploit this by using URLSearchParams.getAll() from the allowed url module to create a host-realm array containing attacker-controlled PEM-formatted CA certificates. When this array is passed back to tls.setDefaultCACertificates(), the sandbox bridge unwraps it to the original host array, allowing the native TLS function to replace the entire host trust store. No file system, process, module loading, or external package access is required—only the narrowly scoped tls and url builtins. The attack affects Node.js 22.19.0+ and 24.5.0+, where the vulnerable API is present.

Affected products

  • patriksimek vm2 3.11.3 through 3.11.6

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-92941
  • GHSA-98xx-8mx4-x7cm

Timeline

  • 2026-08-24: disclosed
  • 2026-09-17: advisory
  • 2026-09-17: patched: Fixed in version 3.11.7

References

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