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Mallory
CriticalPublic exploit

vm2 WebAssembly Sandbox Escape RCE

IdentifiersCVE-2026-26956CWE-693· Protection Mechanism Failure

CVE-2026-26956 is a critical sandbox escape vulnerability in vm2, the Node.js sandbox library. It affects vm2 3.10.4 and allows attacker-controlled code executed via VM.run() to escape the sandbox and achieve arbitrary code execution in the host process. The reported root cause is a protection mechanism failure in vm2’s JavaScript-layer isolation model: a crafted WebAssembly module using the try_table instruction together with a WebAssembly.JSTag catch handler can intercept a JavaScript exception at V8’s C++ layer before vm2’s exception sanitization and proxy-based mediation occur. The demonstrated exploit triggers a host-realm TypeError via Symbol-to-string coercion during stack formatting, returns that unsanitized exception object into attacker-controlled sandbox code, and then pivots through hostError.constructor.constructor to recover the host Function constructor. From there, the attacker can obtain the Node.js process object and execute host commands.

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ANALYST BRIEF

Impact, mitigation & remediation

What it means. What to do now. Patch path, mitigations, and the assume-compromise checklist.

Impact

What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.

Successful exploitation results in full sandbox escape and arbitrary code execution on the host running the vulnerable vm2 instance. An attacker can obtain access to the host Node.js process object, invoke capabilities such as process.mainModule.require("child_process"), execute operating system commands, and fully bypass the intended isolation boundary. Given the assigned CVSS vector AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H, the impact is high across confidentiality, integrity, and availability, and can lead to full system compromise where the hosting process has access to secrets, filesystem resources, network connectivity, or deployment privileges.

Mitigation

If you can’t patch tonight, do this now.

If immediate patching is not possible, prevent attacker-controlled or untrusted JavaScript/WebAssembly from being executed inside vm2 sandboxes, especially through VM.run(). Restrict or disable exposure of sandbox execution features to untrusted users, and avoid relying on vm2 alone as a strong isolation boundary for hostile code. Where untrusted code execution is required, place the workload inside stronger external isolation such as containers or microVMs and minimize host process privileges, filesystem access, secrets exposure, and network reachability.

Remediation

Patch, then assume compromise.

Upgrade vm2 to version 3.10.5 or later, which patches CVE-2026-26956. If feasible, move to a newer maintained release line that includes subsequent vm2 security fixes as well. Validate that all deployments and transitive package bundles actually resolve to a fixed vm2 version, and retest any application paths that execute untrusted code inside VM.run().
PUBLIC EXPLOITS

Exploits

No public exploits tracked yet. Mallory keeps watching.

VALID 0 / 0 TOTALView more in app

No public exploit code observed for this vulnerability.

EXPOSURE SURFACE

Affected products & vendors

Products and vendors Mallory has correlated with this vulnerability. Open in Mallory to drill down to specific CPE configurations and version ranges.

VendorProductType
Vm2 ProjectVm2application

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What this page doesn’t show

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Exposure mapping

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Threat actor evidence

Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.

Associated malware

Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.

Detection signatures

YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.

Vendor-by-vendor mapping

Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.

Social activity18

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