CVE-2026-121746 nvm use --save and nvm install --save write through a symlinked .nvmrc, overwriting any file the user can write
- Exploited in the wild
- Not known
- Fix
- None listed
What is CVE-2026-121746?
CVE-2026-121746 is a medium-severity vulnerability in nvm-sh nvm, published on 4 Nov 2026.
Official description
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/authorized_keys`, 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.
Weakness: CWE-59
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-121746?
How do I fix CVE-2026-121746?
No fix has been published for CVE-2026-121746 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.
Is CVE-2026-121746 being exploited?
It is not confirmed as exploited in the wild, but public exploit code for CVE-2026-121746 exists.
Sources
Also known as GHSA-8qjx-8r8m-mpqh.