---
id: CVE-2026-121748
title: >-
  nvm use --delete-prefix lets a project .npmrc choose which file npm rewrites
  or makes world-writable
summary: >-
  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`,…
severity: low
cvss: 3.6
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-73
vendor: nvm-sh
product: nvm
affected:
  - nvm >= 0.27.0 < 0.41.0
published: '2026-11-04'
updated: '2026-11-04'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-04T21:29:25.656Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-121748'
references:
  - url: 'https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/security/advisories/GHSA-ccgf-7gv4-xg5h'
    label: GHSA-ccgf-7gv4-xg5h
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/nvm-sh/nvm/commit/4049296ca8eef2067517d8cfd5ef5c0e615daa10
    label: Fix commit 4049296c
tags:
  - cve.org
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T21:36:00.616Z'
---

## Overview

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.

## Affected

- `nvm >= 0.27.0 < 0.41.0`

## Remediation

Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.

### Workarounds

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.