A recent discovery has revealed a vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability affecting versions of the vm2 package before 3.9.16, which could allow attackers bypass the sandbox and run arbitrary code in the host context.

Node.js is a powerful platform for building scalable and efficient network applications.

One of the most popular packages in Node.js is vm2, which allows running untrusted code with whitelisted Node’s built-in modules.

vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability explained 

The vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability is related to the source code transformer in the exception sanitization logic, which can leak unsanitized host exceptions.

Attackers could exploit this flaw to escape the sandbox and execute arbitrary code in the host context.

As a result, developers need to update to the latest version of vm2 as soon as possible to prevent this vulnerability from being exploited.

But this latest vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability is not the only type that can impact the availability of a system or application.

Denial of Service (DoS) attacks can also cause downtime for legitimate users by making the system unavailable. Unlike other attacks, DoS attacks don’t necessarily aim to breach security but instead focus on rendering websites or services inaccessible.

Sandbox escape vulnerability opens the door for DDoS attacks

One type of DoS attack is Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), which involves overwhelming a system with a large volume of traffic from multiple sources.

However, vulnerabilities in open-source libraries can also leave systems vulnerable to DoS attacks. These vulnerabilities can cause a system to crash or result in high CPU or memory consumption, making it difficult to function correctly.

For example, attackers can exploit flaws in the application code or open-source libraries to generate crafted requests that cause the system to crash or take excessive time to process.

The commons-file upload: commons-file upload and npm ws packages are examples of DoS vulnerabilities that could be exploited in this way.

Users are requested to upgrade vm2 to version 3.9.16 or higher to stay safe from the vm2 Sandbox escape vulnerability. This will help overcome the associated risks and fix the open exploitation from threat actors. 

To sum up, developers need to stay aware of potential vulnerabilities in their code and the open-source libraries they use.

By keeping up-to-date with the latest security patches and regularly testing their applications, developers can reduce the risk of downtime caused by DoS attacks and other vulnerabilities.