CVE-2026-32304 — locutus
CRITICALCVE-2026-32304 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) Code Injection vulnerability in locutus. A fix is available for locutus — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Locutus: RCE via unsanitized input in create_function()
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-2026-32304.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2026-32304 plotted by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). The shaded corner — EPSS 50%+ and CVSS 7.0+ — is where this CVE doesn't sit, though severity or exploitability alone can still warrant action.
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 378,156 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the < 10% band (highlighted). Real counts from FIRST.org, not a sample — log-scaled since the landscape is heavily right-skewed.
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.
locutusnpmDescription
Summary
The create_function(args, code) function passes both parameters directly to the Function constructor without any sanitization, allowing arbitrary code execution.
This is distinct from CVE-2026-29091 (GHSA-fp25-p6mj-qqg6) which was call_user_func_array using eval() in v2.x. This finding affects create_function using new Function() in v3.x.
Root Cause
src/php/funchand/create_function.ts:17:
return new Function(...params, code)
Zero input validation on either parameter.
PoC
const { create_function } = require('locutus/php/funchand/create_function');
const rce = create_function('', 'return require("child_process").execSync("id").toString()');
console.log(rce());
// Output: uid=501(user) gid=20(staff) ...
Confirmed on locutus v3.0.11, Node.js v24.13.1.
Impact
Full RCE when an attacker can control either argument to create_function(). 597K weekly npm downloads.
Suggested Fix
Remove create_function or replace new Function() with a safe alternative. PHP itself deprecated create_function() in PHP 7.2 for the same reason.
Response
Thanks for the report.
We confirmed that php/funchand/create_function was still present through [email protected] and that it exposed dynamic code execution via new Function(...).
While this was intended behavior, create_function() inherently needs to be unsafe in order for it to work, create_function() was deprecated in PHP 7.2 and removed in PHP 8.0. Given that Locutus' parity target today is 8.3, this function shouldn't have been in Locutus at all anymore.
We fixed this in [email protected] by removing php/funchand/create_function entirely. That matches our PHP 8.3 parity target more closely: .
We also updated php/var/var_export so closures now export using the PHP 8-style \Closure::__set_state(array(...)) form instead of referencing the removed API.
Release:
- npm:
[email protected] - GitHub release: https://github.com/locutusjs/locutus/releases/tag/v3.0.14
Credit to @ByamB4 for the report.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | locutus | all versions | 3.0.14npm install locutus@3.0.14 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for locutus, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update locutus to 3.0.14 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms CVE-2026-32304 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like CVE-2026-32304 can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to CVE-2026-32304. 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-2026-32304 in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds CVE-2026-32304 across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.