CVE-2026-33940

Handlebars.js has JavaScript Injection via AST Type Confusion when passing an object as dynamic partial

CVE-2026-33940 is fixed in node-handlebars on 1 platform by DEBIAN-CVE-2026-33940 (version 3:4.7.9-1), released March 27, 2026. It is not reported as exploited. Patch Radar priority: High.

High
CVSS
8.1
Important
Exploitation
None reported
No vendor assessment
CISA KEV
Not listed
Not in the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
EPSS
0.0072
53rd percentile

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.

Where it's fixed

ProductFixed inFixReleased
Linux
node-handlebars · Debian 14 3:4.7.9-1 DEBIAN-CVE-2026-33940 Mar 27, 2026

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