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.
Blast Radius
Weekly download volume for affected packages — a proxy for how broadly this vulnerability is deployed.
vm2npmDescription
There exists a vulnerability in exception sanitization of vm2 for versions up to 3.9.16, allowing attackers to raise an unsanitized host exception inside handleException() which can be used to escape the sandbox and run arbitrary code in host context.
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 3.9.17 of vm2.
Workarounds
None.
References
PoC - https://gist.github.com/leesh3288/381b230b04936dd4d74aaf90cc8bb244
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in VM2
Thanks to Xion (SeungHyun Lee) of KAIST Hacking Lab for disclosing this vulnerability.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 📦npm | vm2 | all versions | 3.9.17 |
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 3.9.17 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m 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 GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m 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 GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-ch3r-j5x3-6q2m across npm dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.