CVE-2026-121749: nvm passes the version pattern to grep without -e, letting a .nvmrc inject grep options and read local files

Is it exploited?

Not on CISA's list. CISA has not added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as of 10 Nov 2026. If CISA adds it, this page shows it as known exploited.

How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?

0.2%

EPSS score, percentile 5.5 of all scored records. A probability estimated by FIRST, not a report of exploitation.

How severe?

4.6 Medium

CVSS v4.0 base score, given by the CNA

What should I do?

Upgrade to nvm 0.41.0 or later.Solution from the CVE record.

CISA has set no required action, because the vulnerability is not in KEV.

Advisories and patches (2)

Which versions are affected?

Affected

• from 0.5.0 to before 0.41.0

Versions by product

Source: CISA KEV 2026.11.10, as of 10 Nov 2026; FIRST EPSS, as of 12 Nov 2026; CVE List, as of 12 Nov 2026. About the data.

Description

nvm passes the version pattern to grep without -e, letting a .nvmrc inject grep options and read local files

Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.5.0 through 0.40.8, the requested version pattern is passed to `grep` as a bare argument, without `-e`, in `nvm_ls_remote_index_tab`, `nvm_remote_version`, and `nvm_ls_cached`. A `.nvmrc` whose first line starts with `-`, such as `-Rohenpm_[A-Za-z0-9]*`, is parsed as grep options; with GNU grep, `-R` searches the current directory recursively (following symlinks) instead of the version list. On a bare `nvm install`, nvm then treats a matched string from those files as the version, prints it, and requests it from the configured mirror inside download URLs, so for example a repository containing a symlink to `../../.npmrc` can leak the user's npm token to the terminal and to the mirror's and any proxy's logs. The disclosure is read-only and limited to the characters `0-9A-Za-z._+-`. Version 0.41.0 passes every version pattern to grep with `-e`.

Source: CVE List, as of 12 Nov 2026. About the data.

What to do

Advisories and patches

• Fix commit bce663e3 (Patch)
• GHSA-xmxw-6r9w-89gc (Vendor advisory)

Workaround (from the CVE record)

Until upgrading, check that `.nvmrc` does not start with `-` before running nvm in an untrusted project directory.

This summary is based on the CVE record as of 12 Nov 2026. Check the vendor's advisory before you act: affected versions and fixes can change.

Affected products and versions

Source: CVE List, as of 12 Nov 2026. About the data.

Timeline