GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q: Duplicate Advisory Vm2: NodeVM Builtin Denylist Bypass Vulnerability

HIGH
CVSS 8.5
CWE-269
Published
Advisory Summary

GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q is a HIGH (CVSS 8.5) vm2: nodevm builtin denylist bypass vulnerability (CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management) affecting Duplicate Advisory libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves vm2: nodevm builtin denylist bypass via fs/promises despite -fs, allowing host filesystem writes. Remediation is available in the latest vendor maintenance releases.

GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q at a Glance

CVE Identifier N/A
GHSA Identifier GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q
Severity HIGH
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 8.5
CWE Classification CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management
Affected Product Duplicate Advisory
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 8.5

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

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

How to Fix GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q

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-7c3p-84r8-h79q, 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-269: Improper Privilege Management, where the product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor. 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-6rh5-qq4q-97xh. This link is maintained to preserve external references. ## Original Description vm2 through 3.11.6 contains a builtin-module denylist bypass in NodeVM. When the embedder uses the builtin wildcard together with negative entries (e.g. require: { builtin: ['*', '-fs', '-child_process'] }), negative entries are matched by exact module name in lib/builtin.js, so -fs removes only the builtin named fs and does not remove builtin subpaths such as fs/promises. Sandboxed code can therefore call require('fs/promises') or require('node:fs/promises') and reach the promise-based filesystem API despite fs being denied; node: prefix handling is likewise inconsistent (a -node:fs/promises entry does not block require('fs/promises')). Host file creation and writing were confirmed via fsp.writeFile(), and other fs/promises operations (cp, mkdir, rename, rm, rmdir, truncate, read operations, etc.) are also reachable. This issue is fixed in vm2 3.11.7.

GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q Affected Duplicate Advisory Versions

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

References

Frequently Asked Questions

What is GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q?
GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q is a security vulnerability in Duplicate Advisory involving vm2: NodeVM builtin denylist bypass via fs/promises despite -fs, allowing host filesystem writes under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management.
Which Duplicate Advisory versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to current release patches across affected packages: vm2.
What version fixes GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q?
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-7c3p-84r8-h79q?
GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 8.5 (HIGH) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L.
What CWE is associated with GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q?
GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q is classified under CWE-269: Improper Privilege Management (The product does not properly assign, modify, track, or check privileges for an actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.).
How can I check npm dependencies for GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q?
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
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-7c3p-84r8-h79q",
  "modified" : "2026-10-01T15:36:33Z",
  "published" : "2026-09-17T15:32:16Z",
  "withdrawn" : "2026-10-01T15:36:33Z",
  "aliases" : [ ],
  "summary" : "Duplicate Advisory: vm2: NodeVM builtin denylist bypass via fs/promises despite -fs, allowing host filesystem writes",
  "details" : "## Duplicate Advisory\n\nThis advisory has been withdrawn because it is a duplicate of GHSA-6rh5-qq4q-97xh. This link is maintained to preserve external references.\n\n## Original Description\nvm2 through 3.11.6 contains a builtin-module denylist bypass in NodeVM. When the embedder uses the builtin wildcard together with negative entries (e.g. require: { builtin: ['*', '-fs', '-child_process'] }), negative entries are matched by exact module name in lib/builtin.js, so -fs removes only the builtin named fs and does not remove builtin subpaths such as fs/promises. Sandboxed code can therefore call require('fs/promises') or require('node:fs/promises') and reach the promise-based filesystem API despite fs being denied; node: prefix handling is likewise inconsistent (a -node:fs/promises entry does not block require('fs/promises')). Host file creation and writing were confirmed via fsp.writeFile(), and other fs/promises operations (cp, mkdir, rename, rm, rmdir, truncate, read operations, etc.) are also reachable. This issue is fixed in vm2 3.11.7.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:L/SC:N/SI:H/SA:L/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" : "0"
      }, {
        "last_affected" : "3.11.6"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-6rh5-qq4q-97xh"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-92958"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/vm2-before-3.11.7-denylist-bypass-via-fs-promises"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-269" ],
    "severity" : "HIGH",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-10-01T15:36:33Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-09-17T14:18:01Z"
  }
}