CVE-2026-92957: vm2 before 3.11.7 NodeVM Builtin Deny-List Bypass via node: Prefix

Severity: critical (CVSS 9.9 v3.1)
Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
EPSS: 0.5% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
Public exploit or detection template: none known
Published: 2026-09-17 · updated 2026-09-26
Weakness: CWE-269

Description

vm2 through 3.11.6 does not normalize `node:`-prefixed builtin specifiers when evaluating user-supplied negative (deny) entries in a NodeVM wildcard require policy. Although NodeVM strips the `node:` prefix during require() resolution, negative wildcard entries are matched by exact string comparison against the canonical builtin names, so a policy such as `new NodeVM({ require: { builtin: ['*', '-node:child_process'] } })` fails to deny the canonical `child_process` module. Sandboxed code can therefore obtain the host `child_process` builtin via `require('child_process')` or `require('node:child_process')`, gaining references to process-spawning APIs such as execSync and spawn, which is equivalent to host command-execution capability for untrusted sandbox code. Fixed in vm2 3.11.7.

Affected products

patriksimek vm2: before 3.11.7 — fixed in 3.11.7

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: patriksimek vm2 3.11.7. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

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