GHSA-8qjx-8r8m-mpqh: nvm use --save and nvm install --save write through a symlinked .nvmrc, overwriting any file the user can write

Published Nov 4, 2026
·
Updated

Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.40.0 through 0.40.8, nvm use --save and nvm install --save (or -w) write the resolved version to $PWD/.nvmrc with tee, which follows a symbolic link. A repository that commits .nvmrc as a symlink to a path outside itself (git recreates the link on clone) therefore makes --save truncate any file the user can write, such as a shell startup file or ~/.ssh/authorizedkeys, and replace its contents with the version string, or create the target of a dangling link; the link itself is left unchanged, so git status stays clean. The attacker does not control the content written, so this is data loss, not code execution. Version 0.41.0 refuses, with a warning, to write when .nvmrc in the current directory is a symlink, dangling or not, rather than writing through it or replacing it.

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade nvm to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 0.41.0

Event History

Nov 4, 2026
CVE Published
via OSV·09:31 PM
Data Sourced
via OSV·09:31 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

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