Answer in brief
CVE-2026-33939 records a High severity (CVSS 7.5) vulnerability in Handlebars.js has Denial of Service via Malformed Decorator Syntax in Template Compilation. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps handlebars-lang/handlebars.js (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
Analysis pending evidence review
HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.
CVSS is 7.5. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.
Analysis status
Analysis pending evidence review
Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.
The current feed maps handlebars-lang/handlebars.js (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.
| Product | Affected versions | Fixed versions |
|---|---|---|
| cpe:2.3:a:handlebarsjs:handlebars:*:*:*:*:*:node.js:*:* | Not reported | Not reported |
| Package | Affected range | Fixed version |
|---|---|---|
| handlebars-lang/handlebars.jsgeneric | >= 4.0.0, < 4.7.9 | Not reported |
Published upstream
Mar 27, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordSource modified
Sep 4, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:recordFirst seen by HOL
Jul 2, 2026
Handlebars provides the power necessary to let users build semantic templates. In versions 4.0.0 through 4.7.8, when a Handlebars template contains decorator syntax referencing an unregistered decorator (e.g. `{{*n}}`), the compiled template calls `lookupProperty(decorators, "n")`, which returns `undefined`. The runtime then immediately invokes the result as a function, causing an unhandled `TypeError: ... is not a function` that crashes the Node.js process. Any application that compiles user-supplied templates without wrapping the call in a `try/catch` is vulnerable to a single-request Denial of Service. Version 4.7.9 fixes the issue. Some workarounds are available. Wrap compilation and rendering in `try/catch`. Validate template input before passing it to `compile()`; reject templates containing decorator syntax (`{{*...}}`) if decorators are not used in your application. Use the pre-compilation workflow; compile templates at build time and serve only pre-compiled templates; do not call `compile()` at request time.
Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.