Previously, budibase used a library called vm2 for code execution inside the Budibase builder and apps, such as the UI below for configuring bindings in the design section.
Due to a vulnerability in vm2, any environment that executed the code server side (automations and column formulas) was susceptible to this vulnerability, allowing users to escape the sandbox provided by vm2, and to expose server side variables such as process.env. It's recommended by the authors of vm2 themselves that you should move to another solution for remote JS execution due to this vulnerability.
We moved our entire JS sandbox infrastructure over to isolated-vm, a much more secure and recommended library for remote code execution in 2.20.0. This also comes with a performance benefit in the way we cache and execute your JS server side. The budibase cloud platform has been patched already and is not running vm2, but self host users will need to manage the updates by themselves.
If you are a self hosted user, you can take the following steps to reproduce the exploit and to verify if your installation is currently affected.
Create a new formula column on one of your tables in the data section with the following configuration.
Add the following JS function to the formula and save.
If your installation is vulnerable, when the formula evaluates you will be able to see the printed process.env in your new formula field. If not, your installation is not affected.
There is no workaround at this time for any budibase app that uses JS. You must fully migrate post version 2.20.0 to patch the vulnerability.
A security vulnerability is a weakness in software, hardware, or configuration that can be exploited to compromise confidentiality, integrity, or availability. Many vulnerabilities are tracked as CVEs (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures), which provide a standardized identifier so teams can coordinate patching, mitigation, and risk assessment across tools and vendors.
CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) estimates technical severity, but it doesn't automatically equal business risk. Prioritize using context like internet exposure, affected asset criticality, known exploitation (proof-of-concept or in-the-wild), and whether compensating controls exist. A "Medium" CVSS on an exposed, production system can be more urgent than a "Critical" on an isolated, non-production host.
A vulnerability is the underlying weakness. An exploit is the method or code used to take advantage of it. A zero-day is a vulnerability that is unknown to the vendor or has no publicly available fix when attackers begin using it. In practice, risk increases sharply when exploitation becomes reliable or widespread.
Recurring findings usually come from incomplete Asset Discovery, inconsistent patch management, inherited images, and configuration drift. In modern environments, you also need to watch the software supply chain: dependencies, containers, build pipelines, and third-party services can reintroduce the same weakness even after you patch a single host. Unknown or unmanaged assets (often called Shadow IT) are a common reason the same issues resurface.
Use a simple, repeatable triage model: focus first on externally exposed assets, high-value systems (identity, VPN, email, production), vulnerabilities with known exploits, and issues that enable remote code execution or privilege escalation. Then enforce patch SLAs and track progress using consistent metrics so remediation is steady, not reactive.
SynScan combines attack surface monitoring and continuous security auditing to keep your inventory current, flag high-impact vulnerabilities early, and help you turn raw findings into a practical remediation plan.