Detect CVE-2026-47137 — vm2 Sandbox Escape via nesting:true Bypass (RCE) in CrowdStrike LogScale
Detects exploitation of CVE-2026-47137, a critical sandbox escape vulnerability in the vm2 Node.js library (<=3.11.3). This bypass circumvents the CVE-2023-37903 patch by abusing the nesting:true configuration option without an explicit require, enabling full remote code execution from within a sandboxed context. CVSS 10.0.
MITRE ATT&CK
LogScale Detection Query
event_simpleName IN (ProcessRollup2, SyntheticProcessRollup2, NetworkConnectIP4)
| filter ParentBaseFileName IN ("node", "node.exe", "nodejs")
AND (
CommandLine LIKE "%vm2%"
OR CommandLine LIKE "%nesting%true%"
OR CommandLine LIKE "%nesting:true%"
)
| filter
(
FileName IN ("sh", "bash", "dash", "zsh", "cmd.exe", "powershell.exe", "pwsh.exe")
OR CommandLine LIKE "%child_process%"
OR CommandLine LIKE "%execSync%"
OR CommandLine LIKE "%spawnSync%"
OR CommandLine LIKE "%execFileSync%"
OR (event_simpleName = "NetworkConnectIP4" AND NOT RemoteAddressIP4 IN ("127.0.0.1", "::1"))
)
| groupby([ComputerName, UserName, ParentBaseFileName, FileName, CommandLine, RemoteAddressIP4, RemotePort])
| stats count() AS event_count BY ComputerName, UserName, FileName, CommandLine
| sort event_count descCrowdStrike Falcon CQL detecting vm2 sandbox escape activity by correlating Node.js parent processes with vm2 command-line references followed by shell spawning or external network connections in the Falcon process telemetry.
Data Sources
Required Tables
False Positives & Tuning
- Node.js application servers using vm2 for plugin sandboxing with normal outbound API integrations
- Automated scanning tools that enumerate npm packages including vm2 and initiate network checks
- Container orchestration workloads where Node.js with vm2 runs alongside legitimate shell-based health check scripts
Other platforms for CVE-2026-47137
Testing Methodology
Validate this detection against 4 adversary techniques from Atomic Red Team. Each test below lists the behaviour to exercise and the telemetry you should expect to see. Executable commands and cleanup steps are available with Pro.
- Test 1vm2 nesting:true Sandbox Escape via CVE-2026-47137
Expected signal: Sysmon EventID 1 showing node process spawning with vm2 in command line; child_process.execSync call visible in process arguments; file creation event for /tmp/vm2_escape_proof.txt
- Test 2vm2 Vulnerable Version Installation and Verification
Expected signal: npm install process spawning with [email protected] argument; file creation events under /tmp/vm2_test/node_modules/vm2/; network connection to npm registry (registry.npmjs.org:443)
- Test 3vm2 Reverse Shell Simulation Post-Escape
Expected signal: Network connection from node process to 127.0.0.1:9999 (or configured beacon host); curl child process spawned from Node.js parent; DNS/HTTP request with CVE identifier in URI path
- Test 4vm2 nesting Bypass with Prototype Chain Traversal (Variant)
Expected signal: Node.js process with vm2 in command line; fs.writeFileSync call resulting in file creation event at /tmp/vm2_variant_proof.txt; no child process spawned in this variant
References (6)
- https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/security/advisories/GHSA-m4wx-m65x-ghrr
- https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/commit/01a7552add345d5a6862623884e6b79a85bf0568
- https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/commit/86ab819f202c3a8dad88cef5705f2e416c5188d7
- https://github.com/patriksimek/vm2/releases/tag/v3.11.4
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-47137
- https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-m4wx-m65x-ghrr
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