Budibase affected by VM2 Constructor Escape VulnerabilityGHSA-4g2x-vq5p-5vj6
CRITICALFix: Budibase/budibase@601c02aGHSA-4g2x-vq5p-5vj6 is a critical-severity (CVSS 9.8) remote code execution vulnerability in @budibase/server. A fix is available for @budibase/server — see the affected versions and patch details below.
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.
@budibase/servernpmDescription
Impact
Previously, budibase used a library called vm2 for code execution inside the Budibase builder and apps, such as the UI below for configuring bindings in the design section.
Due to a vulnerability in vm2, any environment that executed the code server side (automations and column formulas) was susceptible to this vulnerability, allowing users to escape the sandbox provided by vm2, and to expose server side variables such as process.env. It's recommended by the authors of vm2 themselves that you should move to another solution for remote JS execution due to this vulnerability.
Patches
We moved our entire JS sandbox infrastructure over to isolated-vm, a much more secure and recommended library for remote code execution in 2.20.0. This also comes with a performance benefit in the way we cache and execute your JS server side. The budibase cloud platform has been patched already and is not running vm2, but self host users will need to manage the updates by themselves.
If you are a self hosted user, you can take the following steps to reproduce the exploit and to verify if your installation is currently affected.
Create a new formula column on one of your tables in the data section with the following configuration.
Add the following JS function to the formula and save.
If your installation is vulnerable, when the formula evaluates you will be able to see the printed process.env in your new formula field. If not, your installation is not affected.
Workarounds
There is no workaround at this time for any budibase app that uses JS. You must fully migrate post version 2.20.0 to patch the vulnerability.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | @budibase/server | all versions | 2.20.0npm install @budibase/server@2.20.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for @budibase/server, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update @budibase/server to 2.20.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-4g2x-vq5p-5vj6 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-4g2x-vq5p-5vj6 in your dependencies?
Find it across npm, including transitive dependencies.