CVE-2026-118905 (GCVE-0-2026-118905)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-10-29 05:22 – Updated: 2026-10-29 05:22
VLAI
Title
nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, executing arbitrary commands with GNU sed
Summary
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.
Severity
7.1 (High)
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
7 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
  • CWE-78 - Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
  • CWE-94 - Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')
Assigner
harborist CNA under the redhat root
CNA scorecard B 86/100 over 15 records in the last 180 days details
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version CPE status
nvm-sh nvm Affected: 0.31.2 , < 0.40.6 (semver)
guessed Create a notification for this product.
Credits
vnth4nhnt of CyStack (https://github.com/vnth4nhnt) sjh9714 (https://github.com/sjh9714)
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
          "product": "nvm",
          "repo": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm",
          "vendor": "nvm-sh",
          "versions": [
            {
              "lessThan": "0.40.6",
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "0.31.2",
              "versionType": "semver"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "credits": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "finder",
          "value": "vnth4nhnt of CyStack (https://github.com/vnth4nhnt)"
        },
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "type": "remediation developer",
          "value": "sjh9714 (https://github.com/sjh9714)"
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "supportingMedia": [
            {
              "base64": false,
              "type": "text/html",
              "value": "\u003cp\u003eNode 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\u0027s 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\u0027s command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use \"$(cat .nvmrc)\"` are affected the same way. Version 0.40.6 passes any version pattern containing `#` or a newline through the `.nvmrc` content parser first, so no `#` reaches the sed program.\u003c/p\u003e"
            }
          ],
          "value": "Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.31.2 through 0.40.5, `nvm_ls` filters installed versions with a sed program that embeds the requested version pattern in a `\\#...#` address, escaping `.` (and, since 0.40.4, `#`) but not backslash. A version string containing `#` (or `\\#`) therefore closes the address early, and the rest of it is parsed as sed commands: with GNU sed, the `e` command runs a shell command as the user; with BSD sed, the `w` and `r` commands write and read files. This is reachable whenever an attacker-influenced version string is passed to `nvm use`, `nvm which`, `nvm ls`, `nvm version`, `nvm run`, or `nvm exec`, or to `nvm-exec` via `NODE_VERSION`, and at least one version is installed. nvm\u0027s own `.nvmrc` parser strips comments, so a bare `nvm use` is not affected; however, the bash `cdnvm` and zsh `load-nvmrc` auto-switch hooks documented in the README read `.nvmrc` as-is and pass it to `nvm ls` and `nvm version`, so a user with one of those hooks installed runs the attacker\u0027s command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use \"$(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 (\u0027OS Command Injection\u0027)",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        },
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-94",
              "description": "CWE-94 Improper Control of Generation of Code (\u0027Code Injection\u0027)",
              "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": "\u003cp\u003eUpgrade to nvm 0.40.6 or later.\u003c/p\u003e"
            }
          ],
          "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": "\u003cp\u003eUntil upgrading, do not pass untrusted version strings to nvm, and use nvm\u0027s own `.nvmrc` handling (a bare `nvm use`) instead of reading `.nvmrc` yourself, including in shell auto-switch hooks.\u003c/p\u003e"
            }
          ],
          "value": "Until upgrading, do not pass untrusted version strings to nvm, and use nvm\u0027s 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",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-118905",
      "date": "2026-10-29",
      "epss": "0.00139",
      "percentile": "0.03245"
    },
    "nvd": {
      "cve": {
        "affected": [
          {
            "affectedData": [
              {
                "defaultStatus": "unaffected",
                "product": "nvm",
                "repo": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm",
                "vendor": "nvm-sh",
                "versions": [
                  {
                    "lessThan": "0.40.6",
                    "status": "affected",
                    "version": "0.31.2",
                    "versionType": "semver"
                  }
                ]
              }
            ],
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158"
          }
        ],
        "cveTags": [],
        "descriptions": [
          {
            "lang": "en",
            "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\u0027s 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\u0027s 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."
          }
        ],
        "id": "CVE-2026-118905",
        "lastModified": "2026-10-29T16:19:37.750",
        "metrics": {
          "cvssMetricV31": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "baseScore": 7.0,
                "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"
              },
              "exploitabilityScore": 1.0,
              "impactScore": 5.9,
              "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
              "type": "Secondary"
            }
          ],
          "cvssMetricV40": [
            {
              "cvssData": {
                "Automatable": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "Recovery": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "Safety": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "attackComplexity": "LOW",
                "attackRequirements": "PRESENT",
                "attackVector": "LOCAL",
                "availabilityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "baseScore": 7.1,
                "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
                "confidentialityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "exploitMaturity": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "integrityRequirement": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedAttackComplexity": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedAttackRequirements": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedAttackVector": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedPrivilegesRequired": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedSubAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedSubConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedSubIntegrityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedUserInteraction": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedVulnAvailabilityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedVulnConfidentialityImpact": "NOT_DEFINED",
                "modifiedVulnIntegrityImpact": "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/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",
                "version": "4.0",
                "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
                "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
                "vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH",
                "vulnerabilityResponseEffort": "NOT_DEFINED"
              },
              "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
              "type": "Secondary"
            }
          ]
        },
        "published": "2026-10-29T06:17:20.343",
        "references": [
          {
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
            "url": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/82315e2b189528a006da6701eac30e8c364ffd22"
          },
          {
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
            "url": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/pull/3854"
          },
          {
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
            "url": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/releases/tag/v0.40.6"
          },
          {
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
            "url": "https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-vgqf-vc3m-4wv3"
          }
        ],
        "sourceIdentifier": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
        "vulnStatus": "Awaiting Analysis",
        "weaknesses": [
          {
            "description": [
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-78"
              },
              {
                "lang": "en",
                "value": "CWE-94"
              }
            ],
            "source": "7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158",
            "type": "Secondary"
          }
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}



Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.




Drag nodes to arrange them. Double-click a related vulnerability to open it, or a source to visit its link. The Physics button on the left tunes the layout and the simulation; the legend at the bottom left hides or shows nodes by kind and by sighting type.

Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
Vulnerability timeline

Sightings and recorded dates, grouped by day · UTC

JSON

Loading timeline…




    Related by attack behaviour

    Vulnerabilities whose description is nearest to this one in the vector space of the CIRCL/vulnerability-attack-technique-biencoder model. This is a similarity search over the bi-encoder space (plain cosine), not a classification, and it has no measured accuracy.