Medium severity · published Mar 27, 2026
CVE-2026-33916
Handlebars.js has Prototype Pollution Leading to XSS through Partial Template Injection
4.7
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Handlebars provides the power necessary to let users build semantic templates. In versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.8, `resolvePartial()` in the Handlebars runtime resolves partial names via a plain property lookup on `options.partials` without guarding against prototype-chain traversal. When `Object.prototype` has been polluted with a string value whose key matches a partial reference in a template, the polluted string is used as the partial body and rendered without HTML escaping, resulting in reflected or stored XSS. Version 4.7.9 fixes the issue. Some workarounds are available. Apply `Object.freeze(Object.prototype)` early in application startup to prevent prototype pollution. Note: this may break other libraries, and/or use the Handlebars runtime-only build (`handlebars/runtime`), which does not compile templates and reduces the attack surface.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:L/A:N
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
Low
Availability
None
Scope
Changed
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 20% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
HA
handlebars.js · handlebars-lang
>= 4.0.0, < 4.7.9 · source: vendor
HA
Handlebars · Handlebarsjs
4.0.0 before 4.7.9 · source: NVD
Affected product
HA
handlebars.js
handlebars-lang
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