Raw vector
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:P/PR:N/UI:A/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:XCVSS and EPSS are reproduced from their sources (NVD, FIRST EPSS). Risk Priority is our own derived reading, not an NVD score.
Summary
CVE-2026-15921 is a low-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability. Its CVSS base score is 2.1 (Low).
Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Data from Local System (T1005); ranked at the 26th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-10 (Information Input Validation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-44818
Vulnerability Data
Node Version Manager (nvm) is a POSIX-compliant shell function for managing multiple node.js versions. In versions 0.32.1 through 0.40.5, `nvm ls-remote` (and other commands that refresh remote LTS aliases, such as `nvm install --lts`) parse the node.js mirror's `index.tab` and…
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use each release's LTS codename field as an alias filename without validating it. A malicious, compromised, or man-in-the-middled mirror can return an LTS codename containing path-traversal sequences such as `../../../.bashrc`, causing nvm to write the associated version string to a path outside `$NVM_DIR/alias`. With the default layout (`$NVM_DIR` is `~/.nvm`), this can create or overwrite files in the user's home directory, including shell startup files, which can lead to code execution in a later shell session. Exploitation requires the victim to use a hostile mirror -- via a compromised mirror or CDN, a network man-in-the-middle, or a maliciously configured `NVM_NODEJS_ORG_MIRROR`/`NVM_IOJS_ORG_MIRROR` -- and to run an affected command. Version 0.40.6 validates remote LTS codenames as safe alias filenames and rejects `..` path components when writing alias files.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
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V5.3.2
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Enforces the intended directory access authorizations that path traversal would otherwise bypass.
Input validation directly neutralizes special path elements before pathname construction occurs.
Least privilege reduces the impact of any unauthorized file access obtained via traversal.
Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Secure SDLC practices include input validation and path sanitization that eliminate this weakness.
Least-privilege file authorization directly limits damage from externally controlled paths.
Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.
Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI
Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.
Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.
Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.
Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.
Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.
Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.
Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.