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CVE.org (no NVD analysis yet)· CNA harborist

CVE-2026-121748: nvm use --delete-prefix lets a project .npmrc choose which file npm rewrites or makes world-writable

LowCVSS 1.8 · v4.0—No exploit Fix available

Noroxi assessment

Priority: Monitor (action score 7/100)

  • The sources we track (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, Metasploit, Nuclei, GitHub) show no public exploit code or exploitation in the wild.
  • Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days: 0.12% (FIRST EPSS).
  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it. No account or password is required. No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.
  • Fixed version: nvm-sh nvm 0.41.0.
  • Mentioned 1 time in Turkish national cyber security advisories (siberguvenlik.gov.tr).

Low priority for now. Upgrade to nvm-sh nvm 0.41.0 or later.

Generated automatically from the record's data: CVSS (NVD and CNA), CISA KEV and SSVC, FIRST EPSS, exploit sources, fixed versions. How we calculate it

Primary sources: NVD · CVE.org · FIRST EPSS

Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.27.0 through 0.40.8, when a project's `.npmrc` sets `prefix`, `nvm use` tells the user to run `nvm use --delete-prefix`, which runs `npm config delete prefix` and `npm config delete globalconfig` in the current directory without naming a config file. npm loads the project `.npmrc` before deciding which file to edit, so that file chooses the target: `userconfig=~/.bashrc` makes npm rewrite `~/.bashrc` as ini (corrupting it), and `location=global` with `globalconfig=` leaves the chosen file at mode 0666, which on a shared machine lets another local user write to it. The attacker (the author of a cloned repository or archive, or a local user who can write a shared parent directory) chooses the file but not the bytes written, and no project code runs. Version 0.41.0 no longer lets a project `.npmrc` select which config file `--delete-prefix` edits.

Published
Nov 4, 2026
Updated
Nov 10, 2026
EPSS
0.1% · 2th percentile

Report tools

JSON

Action score

7

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS
7 / 40 · 1.8 / 10
CISA KEV
0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS
0 / 30 · 0.1%

CISA SSVC decision

Exploitation
none
Automatable
no
Technical impact
partial

Vulnrichment: CISA's decision-tree inputs.

CNA vs NVD score

NVD
—
CNA · harborist
1.8
NVD has not scored this yet; the score shown is the CNA’s.

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

The score given by the assigning authority versus NVD’s independent score. A gap means the severity is contested.

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  • Not in KEV: no record of exploitation in the wild
  • No public exploit code on record
  • A fix has been released

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Follow CVE-2026-121748

When you'll hear from us

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  • when exploit code appears or is weaponized
  • when the record is updated (including a fixed version)
  • when EPSS rises 20 points in a week

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Noroxi analysis

What does it mean in your environment?

The assessment above is generated automatically from the record's data; it doesn't know your environment. Our team verifies on your systems whether this vulnerability is actually exploitable and which mitigation is enough.

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Affected systems

Is your version affected?

Pick the product and type the version you run. It's compared with this record's version ranges in your browser; the version isn't sent anywhere.

—

Versions reported by the vendor

Affected version ranges reported by the assigning authority (harborist). Independent of NVD's CPE analysis and usually ahead of it.

  • nvm-sh nvm

    • 0.27.0 and later · before 0.41.0affected · semver

Same product

nvm-sh: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

  • CVE-2026-118905nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, executing arbitrary commands with GNU sed
    28Monitor
  • CVE-2026-121747nvm prints the contents of any readable file through a symlinked .nvmrc
    26Monitor
  • CVE-2026-121746nvm use --save and nvm install --save write through a symlinked .nvmrc, overwriting any file the user can write
    26Monitor

Published before and after this one in the same product

  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-94185Sep 20, 2026 · nvm alias resolution follows `..` and discloses files outside $NVM_DIR/alias
    26Monitor
  • ← EarlierCVE-2026-121745Nov 4, 2026 · nvm exposes NVM_AUTH_HEADER to other local users on the curl/wget command line
    8Monitor
  • Later →CVE-2026-121749Nov 4, 2026 · nvm passes the version pattern to grep without -e, letting a .nvmrc inject grep options and read local files
    18Monitor

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / packageFixed versionSource
nvm-sh nvm0.41.0Vendor (CNA)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

  1. Published
  2. Fix recordedsame day
  3. TodayNov 12, 2026+8 d
EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

National notice (Türkiye Cybersecurity Directorate / USOM)

Official security notices citing this record; remediation advice is on the agency's page.

All national notices →

Not on record for this CVE: variant or chain candidate · public bounty program.

Technical details

Attack conditions

  • Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
  • No account or password is required.
  • No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality
Integrity
Availability
Attack vector
Local
Attack complexity
Low
Privileges required
None
User interaction
A
Scope
X

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-73 · External Control of File Name or Path

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/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

nvd-secondary

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Change log

  1. SSVC exploitation— → none
  2. Exploit maturity— → none
  3. Fix✗ → ✓

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Show all references (1 more)

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records