REDHAT-BUG-2452521: High severity Handlebars Handlebars vulnerability
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.
Affected Software
Remediation
Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.
- Upgrade
Upgrade
handlebarsto a version that resolves this vulnerability.Fixed in 4.7.9 - Configuration
Use the runtime-only build of Handlebars (use require('handlebars/runtime') instead of the full build) to reduce exposure from template/code execution paths.
Handlebars Build/require target = require('handlebars/runtime') - Configuration
Before rendering, sanitize the template context so that no value is a non-primitive object; prevent objects from being passed into dynamic partial resolution/compilation paths.
Template rendering context Context data types = Only primitives allowed (no non-primitive objects) - Configuration
Avoid dynamic partial lookups such as {{> (lookup ...)}} when the lookup inputs/context data are user-controlled.
Handlebars templates Dynamic partial lookups = Avoid {{> (lookup ...)}} with user-controlled context