# CVE-2026-94185: nvm alias resolution follows `..` and discloses files outside $NVM_DIR/alias

> Path traversal in nvm allows attackers to disclose contents of arbitrary files outside the alias directory via crafted version strings or aliases.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.7 (`CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Updated:** 21 Sep 2026
- **Also known as:** GHSA-8grh-q73j-ffrc

## What is CVE-2026-94185?

CVE-2026-94185 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in nvm-sh nvm, published on 21 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

nvm resolves a requested version or alias by treating it as a filename under $NVM_DIR/alias. Before 0.40.8, nvm_alias() concatenated the requested name onto that directory and read the result with no containment check, so a name containing a `..` component escaped the alias directory; under the default layout an alias such as `../../.npmrc` resolves to a file in the user's home directory. nvm_print_alias_file() then emits every non-comment, non-empty line of whatever was opened. A version string taken from an untrusted .nvmrc reaches this path, so a developer who runs `nvm use`, `nvm install`, or `nvm which` inside an attacker-supplied repository discloses the first non-comment line of an arbitrary file readable by that user, in the resulting "is not yet installed" error message. A user-supplied `nvm alias <traversing-name>` discloses every non-comment line of the target file. There is no integrity or availability impact, and no command execution on this path.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory), CWE-200 (Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-94185?


## How do I fix CVE-2026-94185?

No fix has been published for CVE-2026-94185 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2026-94185 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-94185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-94185 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-94185 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in nvm-sh nvm, published on 21 Sep 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-94185 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: nvm-sh nvm. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-94185/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-94185/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-94185
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-94185
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-94185

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-94185/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.