CVE-2025-54782: 
JavaScript vulnerability analysis and mitigation

A critical Remote Code Execution (RCE) vulnerability (CVE-2025-54782) was discovered in the @nestjs/devtools-integration package affecting versions 0.2.0 and below. The vulnerability, disclosed on August 1, 2025, allows arbitrary code execution on a developer's local machine when the package exposes a local development HTTP server with an API endpoint that uses an unsafe JavaScript sandbox implementation. Due to improper sandboxing and missing cross-origin protections, any malicious website visited by a developer can execute arbitrary code on their local machine (GitHub Advisory, Socket Blog).

The vulnerability exists in the /inspector/graph/interact endpoint which accepts JSON input containing a code field and executes it using Node.js vm.runInNewContext sandbox. The implementation closely resembles the abandoned safe-eval library, making it vulnerable to sandbox escape techniques. The server was configured with inadequate CORS protections, setting Access-Control-Allow-Origin to a fixed domain without validating the request's actual origin. The vulnerability carries a CVSS v4.0 score of 9.4 (Critical) with vector string CVSS:4.0/AV:A/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H (GitHub Advisory, SecurityOnline).

This vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code on a developer's machine simply by having them visit a malicious website. The attack requires no user interaction and can be triggered through malvertising or phishing attacks. The impact is particularly severe as it provides full remote code execution capabilities on the developer's local system (Socket Blog, SecurityOnline).

The vulnerability has been patched in version 0.2.1 of @nestjs/devtools-integration. The fix includes replacing the unsafe sandbox implementation with @nyariv/sandboxjs, adding strict origin and content-type validation, and introducing authentication for the devtools connection. Users are strongly encouraged to upgrade to the patched version immediately (GitHub Advisory, ASEC).

The security community has praised the quick response and thorough remediation by the NestJS team. The vulnerability was discovered through Socket's AI-based malware detection system and responsibly disclosed. The maintainers implemented a defense-in-depth strategy with multiple layers of protection against similar vulnerabilities in the future (Socket Blog).