CVE-2026-44003 vm2: Transformer Fast-Path Bypass Exposes Internal State Variable
Attackers can bypass vm2 sandbox restrictions to access internal security functions, potentially leading to code execution.
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Login needed
- Not needed
- Attackable
- Over the internet
- Victim action needed
- Not needed
- Fix
- Available
What is CVE-2026-44003?
CVE-2026-44003 is a medium-severity vulnerability in patriksimek vm2, published on 13 May 2026. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.
Official description
vm2 is an open source vm/sandbox for Node.js. Prior to 3.11.0, vm2's code transformer has a performance optimization that skips AST analysis when the code does not contain catch, import, or async keywords. This fast-path bypass allows sandboxed code to directly access the internal VM2_INTERNAL_STATE_DO_NOT_USE_OR_PROGRAM_WILL_FAIL variable, which exposes internal security functions (handleException, wrapWith, import). This vulnerability is fixed in 3.11.0.
Weakness: CWE-693
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-44003?
2 open source packages ship an affected version, including vm2. It affects 1 product.
| Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|
vm2 npm | All versions | 3.11.0 |
vm2 npm | All versions | 3.11.0 |
Products include Vm2 Project Vm2.
How do I fix CVE-2026-44003?
Upgrade vm2 to 3.11.0 or later.
Is CVE-2026-44003 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-44003 exists.
Other vulnerabilities in patriksimek vm2
Sources
Also known as GHSA-wp5r-2gw5-m7q7, ROOT-APP-NPM-CVE-2026-44003.