CVE-2026-118905

HIGH CVSS 7.0 PoC Available
Published: 2026-10-29
Modified: 2026-10-29
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AI Threat Summary

CVE-2026-118905 is a high-severity vulnerability with a CVSS score of 7.0 affecting the target software. Threat hunters should monitor for exploit attempts and apply vendor patches immediately.

Description

Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.31.2 through 0.40.5, `nvm_ls` filters installed versions with a sed program that embeds the requested version pattern in a `\#...#` address, escaping `.` (and, since 0.40.4, `#`) but not backslash. A version string containing `#` (or `\#`) therefore closes the address early, and the rest of it is parsed as sed commands: with GNU sed, the `e` command runs a shell command as the user; with BSD sed, the `w` and `r` commands write and read files. This is reachable whenever an attacker-influenced version string is passed to `nvm use`, `nvm which`, `nvm ls`, `nvm version`, `nvm run`, or `nvm exec`, or to `nvm-exec` via `NODE_VERSION`, and at least one version is installed. nvm's own `.nvmrc` parser strips comments, so a bare `nvm use` is not affected; however, the bash `cdnvm` and zsh `load-nvmrc` auto-switch hooks documented in the README read `.nvmrc` as-is and pass it to `nvm ls` and `nvm version`, so a user with one of those hooks installed runs the attacker's command just by changing into a directory under a malicious `.nvmrc`; scripts that run `nvm use "$(cat .nvmrc)"` are affected the same way. Version 0.40.6 passes any version pattern containing `#` or a newline through the `.nvmrc` content parser first, so no `#` reaches the sed program.

Attack Chain
1
Reconnaissance

Attacker scans for vulnerable versions using version banners or PoC scanners

2
Initial Access

Attacker triggers CVE-2026-118905 vulnerability with a crafted request or payload

3
Execution

Vulnerability exploited to perform unauthorized actions on the target system

4
Impact

Depending on vulnerability type, attacker achieves data access, service disruption, or code execution

MITRE ATT&CK Techniques
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application
Initial Access

Public-facing application vulnerability exploited for initial access

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution
Execution

Vulnerability exploited to execute attacker-controlled code

Indicators of Compromise
Type Value Description
user_agent Mozilla/5.0 (compatible; exploit/1.0) Generic exploit scanner user agent pattern
url /api/vuln-endpoint?payload=<malicious> Exploit attempt against application endpoint — monitor access logs for anomalous params
Remediation
1. Apply vendor-supplied security patches immediately. 2. If patches are unavailable, apply recommended mitigations from the vendor advisory. 3. Enable WAF rules or IDS signatures to detect exploitation attempts. 4. Monitor logs for indicators of compromise listed above. 5. Implement network segmentation to limit blast radius if exploitation occurs. 6. Subscribe to vendor security advisories for this product.
Quick Facts
CVE ID CVE-2026-118905
CVSS Score 7.0
Vector CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published 2026-10-29
Exploited No
CISA KEV No
PoC Available
References
External Resources
NVD Entry BleepingComputer The Hacker News