nvm passes the version pattern to grep without -e, letting a .nvmrc inject grep options and read local files
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-121749 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | harborist |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-11-04 22:17:54 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-11-04 22:17:54 UTC |
| Description | Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.5.0 through 0.40.8, the requested version pattern is passed to `grep` as a bare argument, without `-e`, in `nvm_ls_remote_index_tab`, `nvm_remote_version`, and `nvm_ls_cached`. A `.nvmrc` whose first line starts with `-`, such as `-Rohenpm_[A-Za-z0-9]*`, is parsed as grep options; with GNU grep, `-R` searches the current directory recursively (following symlinks) instead of the version list. On a bare `nvm install`, nvm then treats a matched string from those files as the version, prints it, and requests it from the configured mirror inside download URLs, so for example a repository containing a symlink to `../../.npmrc` can leak the user's npm token to the terminal and to the mirror's and any proxy's logs. The disclosure is read-only and limited to the characters `0-9A-Za-z._+-`. Version 0.41.0 passes every version pattern to grep with `-e`. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v4.0 4.6 MEDIUM from 7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Problem Types: CWE-88 | CWE-88 CWE-88 Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4.0 | 7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158 | Secondary | 4.6 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/C... |
| 4.0 | CNA | CVSS | 4.6 | MEDIUM | CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N |
| 3.1 | 7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158 | Secondary | 3.3 | LOW | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N |
| 3.1 | CNA | CVSS | 3.3 | LOW | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N |
CVSS v4.0 Breakdown
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N
Vendor Declared Affected Products
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-xmxw-6r9w-89gc | 7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158 | github.com | |
| github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/bce663e3873fadbe8ebbc6e07e8d76fb12d5d69e | 7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158 | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
Vendor Comments And Credit
Discovery Credit
CNA: Anthropic's OSS Scanner, as vulnerability ANT-2026-EN9DM7WC (en)
CNA: Jordan Harband (https://github.com/ljharb) (en)
Additional Advisory Data
Solutions
CNA: Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.
Workarounds
CNA: Until upgrading, check that `.nvmrc` does not start with `-` before running nvm in an untrusted project directory.