GHSA-mmhj-4w6j-76h7
Misuse of `Reference` and other transferable APIs may lead to access to nodejs isolate
Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Affected | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| npm | isolated-vm | < 4.0.0 | 4.0.0 |
Details
As written in the advisory (Markdown source, shown as plain text).
Versions of `isolated-vm` before v4.0.0, and especially before v3.0.0, have API pitfalls which may make it easy for implementers to expose supposed secure isolates to the permissions of the main nodejs isolate.
`Reference` objects allow access to the underlying reference's full prototype chain. In an environment where the implementer has exposed a `Reference` instance to an attacker they would be able to use it to acquire a `Reference` to the nodejs context's `Function` object.
Similar application-specific attacks could be possible by modifying the local prototype of other API objects.
Access to `NativeModule` objects could allow an attacker to load and run native code from anywhere on the filesystem. If combined with, for example, a file upload API this would allow for arbitrary code execution.
To address these issues the following changes were made in v4.0.0:
- Documentation was updated with more explicit guidelines on building secure applications.
- `Reference` instances will no longer follow prototype chains by default, nor will they invoke accessors or proxies.
- All `isolated-vm` API prototypes are now immutable.
- `NativeModule` constructor may only be invoked from a nodejs isolate.
References
External links from the advisory. They lead to third-party sites.
- https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/security/advisories/GHSA-mmhj-4w6j-76h7
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-21413
- https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/commit/2646e6c1558bac66285daeab54c7d490ed332b15
- https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/commit/27151bfecc260e96714443613880e3b2e6596704
- https://github.com/laverdet/isolated-vm/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md#v400