Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.31.2 through 0.40.5, `nvm_ls` filters installed versions with a sed program that embeds the requested version pattern in a `\\#...#` address, escaping `.` (and, since 0.40.4, `#`) but not backslash. A version string containing `#` (or `\\#`) therefore closes the address early, and the rest of it is parsed as sed commands: with GNU sed, the `e` command runs a shell command as the user; with BSD sed, the `w` and `r` commands write and read files. This is reachable whenever an attacker-influenced version string is passed to `nvm use`, `nvm which`, `nvm ls`, `nvm version`, `nvm run`, or `nvm exec`, or to `nvm-exec` via `NODE_VERSION`, and at least one version is installed. nvm's own `.nvmrc` parser strips comments, so a bare `nvm use` is not affected; however, the bash `cdnvm` and zsh `load-nvmrc` auto-switch hooks documented in the README read `.nvmrc` as-is and pass it to `nvm ls` and `nvm version`, so a user with one of those hooks installed runs the attacker's command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use \"$(cat .nvmrc)\"` are affected the same way. Version 0.40.6 passes any version pattern containing `#` or a newline through the `.nvmrc` content parser first, so no `#` reaches the sed program.
"}],"value":"Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.31.2 through 0.40.5, `nvm_ls` filters installed versions with a sed program that embeds the requested version pattern in a `\\#...#` address, escaping `.` (and, since 0.40.4, `#`) but not backslash. A version string containing `#` (or `\\#`) therefore closes the address early, and the rest of it is parsed as sed commands: with GNU sed, the `e` command runs a shell command as the user; with BSD sed, the `w` and `r` commands write and read files. This is reachable whenever an attacker-influenced version string is passed to `nvm use`, `nvm which`, `nvm ls`, `nvm version`, `nvm run`, or `nvm exec`, or to `nvm-exec` via `NODE_VERSION`, and at least one version is installed. nvm's own `.nvmrc` parser strips comments, so a bare `nvm use` is not affected; however, the bash `cdnvm` and zsh `load-nvmrc` auto-switch hooks documented in the README read `.nvmrc` as-is and pass it to `nvm ls` and `nvm version`, so a user with one of those hooks installed runs the attacker's command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use \"$(cat .nvmrc)\"` are affected the same way. Version 0.40.6 passes any version pattern containing `#` or a newline through the `.nvmrc` content parser first, so no `#` reaches the sed program."}],"metrics":[{"cvssV4_0":{"Automatable":"NOT_DEFINED","Recovery":"NOT_DEFINED","Safety":"NOT_DEFINED","attackComplexity":"LOW","attackRequirements":"PRESENT","attackVector":"LOCAL","baseScore":7.1,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","exploitMaturity":"NOT_DEFINED","privilegesRequired":"NONE","providerUrgency":"NOT_DEFINED","subAvailabilityImpact":"NONE","subConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","subIntegrityImpact":"NONE","userInteraction":"ACTIVE","valueDensity":"NOT_DEFINED","vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N","version":"4.0","vulnAvailabilityImpact":"HIGH","vulnConfidentialityImpact":"HIGH","vulnIntegrityImpact":"HIGH","vulnerabilityResponseEffort":"NOT_DEFINED"},"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}]},{"cvssV3_1":{"attackComplexity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","availabilityImpact":"HIGH","baseScore":7,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","privilegesRequired":"NONE","scope":"UNCHANGED","userInteraction":"REQUIRED","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","version":"3.1"},"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}]}],"problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-78","description":"CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')","lang":"en","type":"CWE"}]},{"descriptions":[{"cweId":"CWE-94","description":"CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')","lang":"en","type":"CWE"}]}],"providerMetadata":{"dateUpdated":"2026-10-29T05:22:35.156Z","orgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","shortName":"harborist"},"references":[{"name":"GHSA-vgqf-vc3m-4wv3","tags":["vendor-advisory"],"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-vgqf-vc3m-4wv3"},{"name":"Fix commit 82315e2b","tags":["patch"],"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/82315e2b189528a006da6701eac30e8c364ffd22"},{"name":"nvm-sh/nvm#3854","tags":["patch"],"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/pull/3854"},{"name":"v0.40.6","tags":["release-notes"],"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/releases/tag/v0.40.6"}],"solutions":[{"lang":"en","supportingMedia":[{"base64":false,"type":"text/html","value":"Upgrade to nvm 0.40.6 or later.
"}],"value":"Upgrade to nvm 0.40.6 or later."}],"source":{"advisory":"GHSA-vgqf-vc3m-4wv3","discovery":"EXTERNAL"},"title":"nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, executing arbitrary commands with GNU sed","workarounds":[{"lang":"en","supportingMedia":[{"base64":false,"type":"text/html","value":"Until upgrading, do not pass untrusted version strings to nvm, and use nvm's own `.nvmrc` handling (a bare `nvm use`) instead of reading `.nvmrc` yourself, including in shell auto-switch hooks.
"}],"value":"Until upgrading, do not pass untrusted version strings to nvm, and use nvm's own `.nvmrc` handling (a bare `nvm use`) instead of reading `.nvmrc` yourself, including in shell auto-switch hooks."}]}},"cveMetadata":{"assignerOrgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","assignerShortName":"harborist","cveId":"CVE-2026-118905","datePublished":"2026-10-29T05:22:35.156Z","dateReserved":"2026-10-29T05:21:07.784Z","dateUpdated":"2026-10-29T05:22:35.156Z","state":"PUBLISHED"},"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2"},"nvd":{"publishedDate":"2026-10-29 06:17:20","lastModifiedDate":"2026-10-29 06:17:20","problem_types":["CWE-78","CWE-94","CWE-78 CWE-78 Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')","CWE-94 CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')"],"metrics":{"cvssMetricV40":[{"source":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","type":"Secondary","cvssData":{"version":"4.0","vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/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","baseScore":7.1,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","attackRequirements":"PRESENT","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"ACTIVE","vulnConfidentialityImpact":"HIGH","vulnIntegrityImpact":"HIGH","vulnAvailabilityImpact":"HIGH","subConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","subIntegrityImpact":"NONE","subAvailabilityImpact":"NONE","exploitMaturity":"NOT_DEFINED","confidentialityRequirement":"NOT_DEFINED","integrityRequirement":"NOT_DEFINED","availabilityRequirement":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedAttackVector":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedAttackComplexity":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedAttackRequirements":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedPrivilegesRequired":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedUserInteraction":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedSubIntegrityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact":"NOT_DEFINED","Safety":"NOT_DEFINED","Automatable":"NOT_DEFINED","Recovery":"NOT_DEFINED","valueDensity":"NOT_DEFINED","vulnerabilityResponseEffort":"NOT_DEFINED","providerUrgency":"NOT_DEFINED"}}],"cvssMetricV31":[{"source":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","type":"Secondary","cvssData":{"version":"3.1","vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","baseScore":7,"baseSeverity":"HIGH","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"HIGH","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"REQUIRED","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"HIGH","integrityImpact":"HIGH","availabilityImpact":"HIGH"},"exploitabilityScore":1,"impactScore":5.9}]},"configurations":[]},"legacy_mitre":{"record":{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"118905","Ordinal":"1","Title":"nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, exe","CVE":"CVE-2026-118905","Year":"2026"},"notes":[{"CveYear":"2026","CveId":"118905","Ordinal":"1","NoteData":"Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.31.2 through 0.40.5, `nvm_ls` filters installed versions with a sed program that embeds the requested version pattern in a `\\#...#` address, escaping `.` (and, since 0.40.4, `#`) but not backslash. A version string containing `#` (or `\\#`) therefore closes the address early, and the rest of it is parsed as sed commands: with GNU sed, the `e` command runs a shell command as the user; with BSD sed, the `w` and `r` commands write and read files. This is reachable whenever an attacker-influenced version string is passed to `nvm use`, `nvm which`, `nvm ls`, `nvm version`, `nvm run`, or `nvm exec`, or to `nvm-exec` via `NODE_VERSION`, and at least one version is installed. nvm's own `.nvmrc` parser strips comments, so a bare `nvm use` is not affected; however, the bash `cdnvm` and zsh `load-nvmrc` auto-switch hooks documented in the README read `.nvmrc` as-is and pass it to `nvm ls` and `nvm version`, so a user with one of those hooks installed runs the attacker's command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use \"$(cat .nvmrc)\"` are affected the same way. Version 0.40.6 passes any version pattern containing `#` or a newline through the `.nvmrc` content parser first, so no `#` reaches the sed program.","Type":"Description","Title":"nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, exe"}]}}}