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Vendor Solution
Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later, which only lets an all-digit `lts/-N` offset reach shell arithmetic and drops mirror rows with invalid version strings. (Only needed if using a non-default mirror whose metadata contents you do not trust, or running nvm in untrusted project directories.)
Vendor Workaround
Until upgrading, only run `nvm ls-remote` and LTS-refreshing commands against trusted mirrors over TLS, ensure `NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR` points only at a trusted endpoint, and do not run nvm in untrusted project directories.
Tracking
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Wed, 04 Nov 2026 21:30:00 +0000
| Type | Values Removed | Values Added |
|---|---|---|
| Description | Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.39.6 through 0.40.8, `nvm ls-remote` (and other commands that refresh remote LTS aliases) store the version column of the mirror's `index.tab` in `$NVM_DIR/alias/lts/` without validating it, and `nvm_normalize_lts` later evaluates any suffix of an `lts/-N` value inside shell arithmetic `$((N+1))`. Under bash and zsh, arithmetic evaluation expands command substitutions in array subscripts, so a stored value such as `lts/-10*path[$(cmd)1]` runs `cmd` as the user when the alias is later resolved by purely local commands (`nvm ls`, `nvm alias`, `nvm use --lts`, `nvm which lts/`), and in every new shell when the `default` alias is `lts/*`. Exploitation requires the victim to use a hostile mirror -- via a compromised mirror or CDN, a network man-in-the-middle of an `http://` mirror, or a maliciously configured `NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR` -- and to run an affected command. The same sink is also reachable from a project `.nvmrc`, which is treated as hardening. dash is not affected. Version 0.41.0 only passes an all-digit `lts/-N` offset to arithmetic and drops `index.tab` rows whose version is not a valid version string. | |
| Title | nvm evaluates a malicious mirror's index.tab version strings as shell arithmetic via stored LTS aliases | |
| Weaknesses | CWE-20 CWE-78 |
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cvssV3_1
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Status: PUBLISHED
Assigner: harborist
Published:
Updated: 2026-11-04T21:26:57.967Z
Reserved: 2026-11-03T23:39:04.553Z
Link: CVE-2026-121751
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Status : Received
Published: 2026-11-04T22:17:55.060
Modified: 2026-11-04T22:17:55.060
Link: CVE-2026-121751
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OpenCVE Enrichment
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