CVE-2026-118905 nvm_ls lets an untrusted version string inject sed commands, executing arbitrary commands with GNU sed
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-118905?
CVE-2026-118905 is a high-severity vulnerability in nvm-sh nvm, published on 29 Oct 2026.
Official description
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.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-118905?
How do I fix CVE-2026-118905?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-118905 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-118905 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-118905 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-vgqf-vc3m-4wv3.