CVE-2023-37466Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Host code execution via Promise species bypass

Published Jul 13, 2023 · Updated Jan 5, 2026

Code injection in Patrik Simek vm2 3.9.19 and earlier allows attackers to escape the sandbox and execute arbitrary host code. The Promise.prototype.then wrapper sanitizes rejection handlers but trusts a promise constructor's Symbol.species, letting an attacker-supplied constructor receive an unsanitized host exception. Exploitation requires the application to execute attacker-controlled asynchronous JavaScript inside a vm2 sandbox; escaped code runs with the host Node.js process's privileges.

CVSS severity9.8
Critical
EPSS probability3.87%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

Code injection in Patrik Simek vm2 3.9.19 and earlier allows attackers to escape the sandbox and execute arbitrary host code. The Promise.prototype.then wrapper sanitizes rejection handlers but trusts a promise constructor's Symbol.species, letting an attacker-supplied constructor receive an unsanitized host exception. Exploitation requires the application to execute attacker-controlled asynchronous JavaScript inside a vm2 sandbox; escaped code runs with the host Node.js process's privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-37466
Published
Jul 13, 2023
Updated
Jan 5, 2026
Vendor
Patrik Simek
Product
vm2
Classifications
CWE-94, T1059.007
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 13, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jan 5, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=<= 3.9.19

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Patrik Simek · vm2version=<= 3.9.19

Published CVSS scores

9.8GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-94Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
T1059.007JavaScript/JScript

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo