CVE-2023-29199
CRITICALCVE-2023-29199 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) CWE-913 vulnerability in vm2. 1 public exploit reference exists, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether CVE-2023-29199 is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability
Blast Radius
vm2Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects npm packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
There exists a vulnerability in source code transformer (exception sanitization logic) of vm2 for versions up to 3.9.15, allowing attackers to bypass handleException() and leak unsanitized host exceptions which can be used to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code in host context. A threat actor can bypass the sandbox protections to gain remote code execution rights on the host running the sandbox. This vulnerability was patched in the release of version 3.9.16 of vm2.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | vm2 | all versions | 3.9.16 |
Research 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. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update vm2 to 3.9.16 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2023-29199 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.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether CVE-2023-29199 is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to CVE-2023-29199. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2023-29199 in your dependencies?
O3 detects CVE-2023-29199 across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.