---
id: CVE-2026-121747
title: nvm prints the contents of any readable file through a symlinked .nvmrc
summary: >-
  Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing
  multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.2.0 through 0.40.8, nvm does not
  check whether `.nvmrc` is a symbolic link. A repository or archive that ships
  `.nvmrc` …
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-59
  - CWE-61
  - CWE-200
vendor: nvm-sh
product: nvm
affected:
  - nvm >= 0.2.0 < 0.41.0
published: '2026-11-04'
updated: '2026-11-04'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-04T21:30:32.903Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-121747'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-j6ch-mq5c-3h4x'
    label: GHSA-j6ch-mq5c-3h4x
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/67268ebcb6e1a26ae3d71b3710d6333bb7358662
    label: Fix commit 67268ebc
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/c314f1cbb3c301c587a4e4f96511d31f1134ffd1
    label: Fix commit c314f1cb
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T21:36:00.617Z'
---

## Overview

Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.2.0 through 0.40.8, nvm does not check whether `.nvmrc` is a symbolic link. A repository or archive that ships `.nvmrc` as a symlink to another file (for example `../../.npmrc`, or `/proc/self/environ` on Linux) makes a plain `nvm use`, `nvm install`, `nvm which`, `nvm exec`, `nvm run`, or `nvm-exec` read that file and print its contents in the invalid-`.nvmrc` message (even with `--silent`) or, for a one-line file, in the `Found ... with version <...>` message; with the README's zsh `load-nvmrc` or bash `cdnvm` hook installed, entering the directory is enough. nvm sends the content nowhere; the attacker learns it only where they can see the victim's output, such as a CI log for a contributed branch. Version 0.41.0 still follows a symlinked `.nvmrc`, so deliberate links to another version file keep working, but never prints its content, and accepts it only if it contains a version or the name of an existing alias; the README's bash `cdnvm` hook, which read `.nvmrc` itself, now gets the version from nvm, so users of that hook must also update their copy of it.

## Affected

- `nvm >= 0.2.0 < 0.41.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.

### Workarounds

Until upgrading, check for a symlinked `.nvmrc` (`ls -l .nvmrc`) before running nvm in an untrusted project directory, and do not run nvm in CI for untrusted branches where its output is visible to their authors.