CVE-2023-29199: Vm2 Vm2 Sandbox Escape Vulnerability Vulnerability

CRITICAL
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-xj72-wvfv-8985
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CVSS 9.8
CWE-913
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-29199 is a CRITICAL (CVSS 9.8) vm2 sandbox escape vulnerability vulnerability (CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources) affecting Vm2 libraries in the npm ecosystem. The issue involves vm2 sandbox escape vulnerability. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 3.9.16.

CVE-2023-29199 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-29199
GHSA Identifier GHSA-xj72-wvfv-8985
Severity CRITICAL
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 9.8
CWE Classification CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources
Affected Product Vm2
Package Ecosystem npm
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 9.8

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:U/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 Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality High (C:H)
Integrity High (I:H)
Availability High (A:H)

How to Fix CVE-2023-29199

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Vm2 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: 3.9.16 
npm install vm2@3.9.16
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 CVE-2023-29199, inspect your project dependencies using npm:

npm ls vm2

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Vm2 in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 3.9.16), 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-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources, where the product does not properly restrict reading from or writing to dynamically-managed code resources such as variables, objects, classes, attributes, functions, or executable instructions or statements. In Vm2, 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

There exists a vulnerability in source code transformer (exception sanitization logic) of vm2 for versions up to 3.9.15, allowing attackers to bypass `handleException()` and leak unsanitized host exceptions which can be used to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code in host context. ### Impact A threat actor can bypass the sandbox protections to gain remote code execution rights on the host running the sandbox. ### Patches This vulnerability was patched in the release of version `3.9.16` of `vm2`. ### Workarounds None. ### References Github Issue - https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/issues/516 PoC - https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/f05730165799bf56d70391f3d9ea187c ### For more information If you have any questions or comments about this advisory: - Open an issue in [VM2](https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2) Thanks to [Xion](https://twitter.com/0x10n) (SeungHyun Lee) of [KAIST Hacking Lab](https://kaist-hacking.github.io/) for disclosing this vulnerability.

CVE-2023-29199 Affected Vm2 Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
3.9.16
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
vm2
npm/vm2
npm
< 3.9.16
3.9.16

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-xj72-wvfv-8985
NVD — CVE-2023-29199 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-29199
Vm2 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/issues/516
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/commit/24c724daa7c09f003e556d7cd1c7a8381cb985d7
Vm2 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/f05730165799bf56d70391f3d9ea187c
Vm2 Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2
Vm2 Release RELEASE
https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/releases/tag/3.9.16

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-29199?
CVE-2023-29199 is a security vulnerability in Vm2 involving vm2 Sandbox Escape vulnerability under CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources.
Which Vm2 versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 3.9.16 across affected packages: vm2.
What version fixes CVE-2023-29199?
Upgrading to 3.9.16 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is vm2 affected?
Yes, vm2 is affected in releases prior to 3.9.16. Upgrade your dependency to 3.9.16 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-29199?
CVE-2023-29199 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 9.8 (CRITICAL) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-29199?
CVE-2023-29199 is classified under CWE-913: Improper Control of Dynamically-Managed Code Resources (The product does not properly restrict reading from or writing to dynamically-managed code resources such as variables, objects, classes, attributes, functions, or executable instructions or statements.).
How can I check npm dependencies for CVE-2023-29199?
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-xj72-wvfv-8985",
  "modified" : "2023-04-14T21:35:01Z",
  "published" : "2023-04-12T20:42:44Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-29199" ],
  "summary" : "vm2 Sandbox Escape vulnerability",
  "details" : "There exists a vulnerability in source code transformer (exception sanitization logic) of vm2 for versions up to 3.9.15, allowing attackers to bypass `handleException()` and leak unsanitized host exceptions which can be used to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code in host context.\n\n### Impact\nA threat actor can bypass the sandbox protections to gain remote code execution rights on the host running the sandbox.\n\n### Patches\nThis vulnerability was patched in the release of version `3.9.16` of `vm2`.\n\n### Workarounds\nNone.\n\n### References\nGithub Issue - https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/issues/516\nPoC - https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/f05730165799bf56d70391f3d9ea187c\n\n### For more information\n\nIf you have any questions or comments about this advisory:\n\n- Open an issue in [VM2](https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2)\n\nThanks to [Xion](https://twitter.com/0x10n) (SeungHyun Lee) of [KAIST Hacking Lab](https://kaist-hacking.github.io/) for disclosing this vulnerability.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "npm",
      "name" : "vm2"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "3.9.16"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-xj72-wvfv-8985"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-29199"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/issues/516"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/commit/24c724daa7c09f003e556d7cd1c7a8381cb985d7"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/f05730165799bf56d70391f3d9ea187c"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/releases/tag/3.9.16"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-913" ],
    "severity" : "CRITICAL",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-04-12T20:42:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-04-14T19:15:00Z"
  }
}