DEBIAN-CVE-2026-33940
Handlebars provides the power necessary to let users build semantic templates. In versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.8, a crafted object placed in the template context can bypass all conditional guards in `resolvePartial()` and cause `invokePartial()` to return `undefined`. The Handlebars runtime then treats the unresolved partial as a source that needs to be compiled, passing the crafted object to `env.compile()`. Because the object is a valid Handlebars AST containing injected code, the generated JavaScript executes arbitrary commands on the server. The attack requires the adversary to control a value that can be returned by a dynamic partial lookup. Version 4.7.9 fixes the issue. Some workarounds are available. First, use the runtime-only build (`require('handlebars/runtime')`). Without `compile()`, the fallback compilation path in `invokePartial` is unreachable. Second, sanitize context data before rendering: Ensure no value in the context is a non-primitive object that could be passed to a dynamic partial. Third, avoid dynamic partial lookups (`{{> (lookup ...)}}`) when context data is user-controlled.
Risk Scores
Affected Products
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| Debian:11 | node-handlebars | 0, 3:4.7.6+~4.1.0-2, 3:4.7.6+~4.1.0-3 |
| Debian:12 | node-handlebars | 4.7.9-4, 3:4.7.7+~4.1.0-1, 3:4.7.9-1 |
| Debian:14 | node-handlebars | 4.7.7, 0, 3:4.7.7+~4.1.0-1 |
| Debian:13 | node-handlebars | 3:4.7.7+~4.1.0-1, 3:4.7.9-1, 3:4.7.9-2 |
Exploit Intelligence
- .trivyignore.yml (github-poc)
- cvl-api-suppressions.xml (github-poc)
- allow-list.xml (github-poc)
Timeline
- Mar 27, 2026 CVE Published
- Apr 28, 2026 CVE Updated