CVE-2026-92950: vm2 sandbox escape in CLI tool via require

CVE-2026-92950 · Severity: high · CVSS 8.6 · Published 2026-09-17

vm2 is a popular Node.js library used to safely execute untrusted JavaScript code in an isolated sandbox environment. The CLI tool shipped with vm2 fails to properly isolate sandboxed scripts, allowing an attacker to provide a malicious script file that breaks out of the sandbox and executes arbitrary code with full access to the host system, including filesystem and process execution capabilities.

Technologies: vm2 (npm). Vendors: npm.

Quick answers

Is CVE-2026-92950 exploited in the wild?
No. Junglewise Threat Intelligence has no report of CVE-2026-92950 being exploited in the wild.
How severe is CVE-2026-92950?
High severity, with a CVSS score of 8.6, published 17 September 2026.
Which products and versions are affected?
vm2 (npm) <= 3.11.6, SEMVER:introduced=0,fixed=3.11.7.
Is there a fix for CVE-2026-92950?
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-2026-92950 attacked?
It is attacked with local access.
Am I affected by CVE-2026-92950?
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 is a sandbox escape in the vm2 CLI tool (bin/vm2) caused by improper configuration of the NodeVM instance. The CLI invokes NodeVM.file() with require:{external:true} but fails to configure require.root, require.context, or require.builtin restrictions. This allows a sandboxed script to call require(__filename) to re-execute itself in the host realm via the resolver's loadJS() function, which performs the actual module load through the host require() function before wrapping results. An attacker supplying a script file to the documented vm2 ./script.js invocation can achieve arbitrary code execution in the host Node.js process with no preconditions or user interaction beyond running the tool. The vulnerability was patched in version 3.11.7.

Affected products

  • vm2 vm2 before 3.11.7

Identifiers

  • CVE-2026-92950
  • GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p

Timeline

  • 2026-08-24: disclosed: GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-jxxv-8r27-vm4p published
  • 2026-09-17: advisory: CVE-2026-92950 and NVD entry published

References

This page as Markdown. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with a link back.