CVE-2022-36067 is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-913 vulnerability in vm2. 4 public exploit or proof-of-concept references are indexed, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for vm2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
vm2 vulnerable to Sandbox Escape before v3.9.11
Exploitation Status
Proof-of-concept exploit code exists
- CISA’s SSVC triage found public proof-of-concept exploit code for this CVE, though no confirmed active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2022-36067.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
How broadly this vulnerability is actually deployed: weekly install volume shows current usage, and reverse-dependency count shows how many other packages break if it stays unpatched.
vm2npmDescription
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 3.9.11 of vm2
Workarounds
None.
References
Github Issue - https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/issues/467 The file that was patched - https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/blob/master/lib/setup-sandbox.js#L71 The commit with the patch - https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/commit/d9a7f3cc995d3d861e1380eafb886cb3c5e2b873#diff-b1a515a627d820118e76d0e323fe2f0589ed50a1eacb490f6c3278fe3698f164
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in VM2
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | vm2 | all versions | 3.9.11npm install vm2@3.9.11 |
Affected Products
vm2vm2_projectResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for vm2, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update vm2 to 3.9.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2022-36067 is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base, or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2022-36067 (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2022-36067 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.