GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq is a critical-severity (CVSS 10) CWE-913 vulnerability in vm2. 4 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. A fix is available for vm2 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
vm2 vulnerable to Sandbox Escape resulting in Remote Code Execution on host
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 GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq.
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
GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq 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 377,166 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 10–50% 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.
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 |
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, 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 GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq 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 GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq. 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-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-mrgp-mrhc-5jrq across npm dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.