GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r: Duplicate Advisory Vm2 Sandbox Escape Vulnerability

CRITICAL
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CVSS 10.0
CWE-693
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r is a CRITICAL (CVSS 10.0) vm2 sandbox escape vulnerability (CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure) affecting Duplicate Advisory libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves vm2 sandbox escape via webassembly.compilestreaming promise species bypass. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 10.0
CWE Classification CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure
Affected Product Duplicate Advisory
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 10.0

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Changed (S:C)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Duplicate Advisory dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

vm2 fixed: Latest secure release 
npm install vm2@Latest secure release
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

npm ls vm2

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Node.js application is affected by GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls vm2

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Duplicate Advisory in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than the patched release), your application is affected.

Note: The npm ls vm2 command inspects dependencies declared in your package.json and lockfile; it does not perform automated runtime dynamic scanning.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure, where the product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product. In Duplicate Advisory, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

## Duplicate Advisory This advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-wjwh-qqvp-g4p4. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Description vm2 versions 3.10.1 through 3.11.6 contain a sandbox escape reachable from a default `new VM()` sandbox when running on Node.js 26. WebAssembly.compileStreaming and WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming can produce a raw host-realm Promise that rejects with a host-realm error object; by controlling Symbol.species via Promise.prototype.finally, sandbox code receives that raw host error, walks from the host error constructor to the host Function constructor, and recovers the real host `process` object, gaining host Node.js capabilities (e.g. access to host modules such as fs) in the context of the process running the sandbox. No NodeVM, require permission, host object injection, or otherwise unsafe configuration is required. This is a bypass of the fix for GHSA-6j2x-vhqr-qr7q, which removed the JSPI entry points WebAssembly.promising and WebAssembly.Suspending. The issue is fixed in 3.11.7.

GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r Affected Duplicate Advisory Versions

1 component(s)
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
vm2
npm/vm2
npm
≥ 3.10.1
≤ 3.11.6

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-wjwh-qqvp-g4p4
NVD — GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92956
www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vm2-3.10... WEB
https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vm2-3.10.1-through-3.11.6-sandbox-escape-via-webassembly-compilestreaming

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r?
GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r is a security vulnerability in Duplicate Advisory involving vm2 sandbox escape via WebAssembly.compileStreaming Promise species bypass under CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure.
Which Duplicate Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: vm2.
What version fixes GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r?
Upgrading to current release patches (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is vm2 affected?
Yes, vm2 is affected in releases prior to Latest secure release. Upgrade your dependency to Latest secure release or later.
What is the CVSS score of GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r?
GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 10.0 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r?
GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r is classified under CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure (The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r?
Run the dependency tree command: 'npm ls vm2'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-538q-xxpg-6h4r",
  "modified" : "2026-10-05T22:34:14Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-17T15:32:16Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2026-10-05T22:34:14Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Duplicate Advisory: vm2 sandbox escape via WebAssembly.compileStreaming Promise species bypass",
  "details" : "## Duplicate Advisory\n\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-wjwh-qqvp-g4p4. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nvm2 versions 3.10.1 through 3.11.6 contain a sandbox escape reachable from a default `new VM()` sandbox when running on Node.js 26. WebAssembly.compileStreaming and WebAssembly.instantiateStreaming can produce a raw host-realm Promise that rejects with a host-realm error object; by controlling Symbol.species via Promise.prototype.finally, sandbox code receives that raw host error, walks from the host error constructor to the host Function constructor, and recovers the real host `process` object, gaining host Node.js capabilities (e.g. access to host modules such as fs) in the context of the process running the sandbox. No NodeVM, require permission, host object injection, or otherwise unsafe configuration is required. This is a bypass of the fix for GHSA-6j2x-vhqr-qr7q, which removed the JSPI entry points WebAssembly.promising and WebAssembly.Suspending. The issue is fixed in 3.11.7.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "vm2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "3.10.1"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "3.11.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-wjwh-qqvp-g4p4"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92956"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vm2-3.10.1-through-3.11.6-sandbox-escape-via-webassembly-compilestreaming"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-693" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-10-05T22:34:14Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-17T14:18:01Z"
  }
}