Process crash via unchecked decorator invocation
Published Mar 27, 2026 · Updated Mar 27, 2026
Denial of service in Handlebars.js 4.0.0 through 4.7.8 allows remote attackers to crash Node.js processes via unregistered decorators. Generated decorator code in lib/handlebars/compiler/javascript-compiler.js calls the lookupProperty result as a function without checking whether the decorator exists. Exposure requires an application to compile and render attacker-supplied templates without catching the resulting exception, and one crafted request terminates the process.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Handlebars.js 4.0.0 through 4.7.8 allows remote attackers to crash Node.js processes via unregistered decorators. Generated decorator code in lib/handlebars/compiler/javascript-compiler.js calls the lookupProperty result as a function without checking whether the decorator exists. Exposure requires an application to compile and render attacker-supplied templates without catching the resulting exception, and one crafted request terminates the process.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-33939
- Published
- Mar 27, 2026
- Updated
- Mar 27, 2026
- Vendor
- Handlebars
- Product
- Handlebars.js
- Classifications
- CWE-754, CWE-248, T1499.004
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Mar 27, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Mar 27, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=>= 4.0.0, < 4.7.9
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Upstream malformed-decorator proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
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
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