CVE-2021-21413

Misuse of `Reference` and other transferable APIs may lead to access to nodejs isolate

CRITICAL
9.6
CVSS Score
Published: March 30, 2021 at 10:25 PM UTC
Updated: June 17, 2026 at 03:35 AM UTC
2 products affected across 2 vendorsIsolated VmVm Project Isolated Vm

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Severity
CRITICAL9.6
Exploit prediction
EPSS 0.7%

Description

isolated-vm is a library for nodejs which gives you access to v8's Isolate interface. Versions of isolated-vm before v4.0.0 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. This is addressed in v4.0.0 through a series of related changes.

Affected

Our own answer: ranges merged, affected separated from platform-only, with confidence and review flags.

v < 4.0.0
Affected range stops below 4.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement
v < 4.0.0
Affected range stops below 4.0.0, so it looks safe — our inference, not a vendor statement

Remediation

No guide yet

No remediation guidance has been written for this CVE yet. What the record does show:

CVSS

Attack Vector
ADJACENT_NETWORK
Complexity
LOW
Privileges
NONE
User Interaction
NONE
Scope
CHANGED
Confidentiality
HIGH
Integrity
HIGH
Availability
HIGH
Vector?

Quick Info

StatusMODIFIED
CWE
CWE-913

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