{"dataType":"CVE_RECORD","dataVersion":"5.2","cveMetadata":{"cveId":"CVE-2026-121748","assignerOrgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","state":"PUBLISHED","assignerShortName":"harborist","dateReserved":"2026-11-03T23:38:59.224Z","datePublished":"2026-11-04T21:29:25.656Z","dateUpdated":"2026-11-04T21:29:25.656Z"},"containers":{"cna":{"providerMetadata":{"orgId":"7ffcee3d-2c14-4c3e-b844-86c6a321a158","shortName":"harborist","dateUpdated":"2026-11-04T21:29:25.656Z"},"title":"nvm use --delete-prefix lets a project .npmrc choose which file npm rewrites or makes world-writable","problemTypes":[{"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","cweId":"CWE-73","description":"CWE-73 External Control of File Name or Path","type":"CWE"}]}],"affected":[{"vendor":"nvm-sh","product":"nvm","repo":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm","versions":[{"status":"affected","version":"0.27.0","lessThan":"0.41.0","versionType":"semver"}],"defaultStatus":"unaffected"}],"descriptions":[{"lang":"en","value":"Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.27.0 through 0.40.8, when a project's `.npmrc` sets `prefix`, `nvm use` tells the user to run `nvm use --delete-prefix`, which runs `npm config delete prefix` and `npm config delete globalconfig` in the current directory without naming a config file. npm loads the project `.npmrc` before deciding which file to edit, so that file chooses the target: `userconfig=~/.bashrc` makes npm rewrite `~/.bashrc` as ini (corrupting it), and `location=global` with `globalconfig=` leaves the chosen file at mode 0666, which on a shared machine lets another local user write to it. The attacker (the author of a cloned repository or archive, or a local user who can write a shared parent directory) chooses the file but not the bytes written, and no project code runs. Version 0.41.0 no longer lets a project `.npmrc` select which config file `--delete-prefix` edits.","supportingMedia":[{"type":"text/html","base64":false,"value":"<p>Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.27.0 through 0.40.8, when a project's `.npmrc` sets `prefix`, `nvm use` tells the user to run `nvm use --delete-prefix`, which runs `npm config delete prefix` and `npm config delete globalconfig` in the current directory without naming a config file. npm loads the project `.npmrc` before deciding which file to edit, so that file chooses the target: `userconfig=~/.bashrc` makes npm rewrite `~/.bashrc` as ini (corrupting it), and `location=global` with `globalconfig=` leaves the chosen file at mode 0666, which on a shared machine lets another local user write to it. The attacker (the author of a cloned repository or archive, or a local user who can write a shared parent directory) chooses the file but not the bytes written, and no project code runs. Version 0.41.0 no longer lets a project `.npmrc` select which config file `--delete-prefix` edits.</p>"}]}],"references":[{"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-ccgf-7gv4-xg5h","name":"GHSA-ccgf-7gv4-xg5h","tags":["vendor-advisory"]},{"url":"https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/4049296ca8eef2067517d8cfd5ef5c0e615daa10","name":"Fix commit 4049296c","tags":["patch"]}],"metrics":[{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}],"cvssV4_0":{"attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"LOW","attackRequirements":"PRESENT","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"ACTIVE","vulnConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","subConfidentialityImpact":"NONE","vulnIntegrityImpact":"LOW","subIntegrityImpact":"NONE","vulnAvailabilityImpact":"LOW","subAvailabilityImpact":"NONE","exploitMaturity":"NOT_DEFINED","Safety":"NOT_DEFINED","Automatable":"NOT_DEFINED","Recovery":"NOT_DEFINED","valueDensity":"NOT_DEFINED","vulnerabilityResponseEffort":"NOT_DEFINED","providerUrgency":"NOT_DEFINED","version":"4.0","baseSeverity":"LOW","baseScore":1.8,"vectorString":"CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"}},{"format":"CVSS","scenarios":[{"lang":"en","value":"GENERAL"}],"cvssV3_1":{"version":"3.1","attackVector":"LOCAL","attackComplexity":"HIGH","privilegesRequired":"NONE","userInteraction":"REQUIRED","scope":"UNCHANGED","confidentialityImpact":"NONE","integrityImpact":"LOW","availabilityImpact":"LOW","baseSeverity":"LOW","baseScore":3.6,"vectorString":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L"}}],"workarounds":[{"lang":"en","value":"Until upgrading, do not run `nvm use --delete-prefix` in an untrusted project directory; remove the `prefix` setting from your own npmrc files by hand instead.","supportingMedia":[{"type":"text/html","base64":false,"value":"<p>Until upgrading, do not run `nvm use --delete-prefix` in an untrusted project directory; remove the `prefix` setting from your own npmrc files by hand instead.</p>"}]}],"solutions":[{"lang":"en","value":"Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.","supportingMedia":[{"type":"text/html","base64":false,"value":"<p>Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.</p>"}]}],"credits":[{"lang":"en","value":"Anthropic's OSS Scanner, as vulnerability ANT-2026-WYRTKBQ5","type":"finder"},{"lang":"en","value":"Jordan Harband (https://github.com/ljharb)","type":"remediation developer"}],"source":{"advisory":"GHSA-ccgf-7gv4-xg5h","discovery":"EXTERNAL"}}}}