diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 0593147c..eb564f62 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -540,6 +540,8 @@ nvm install --offline 14.7.0
 
 This resolves versions using only locally installed versions and cached downloads. It will not attempt to download anything. This is useful in air-gapped environments, on planes, or when you want to avoid network latency.
 
+A download is only added to the cache (`$NVM_DIR/.cache`) once its checksum has been verified (unless no checksum tool is available, in which case `nvm` warns that it is continuing without verification). `--offline` does not verify cached archives again, so anything placed in the cache by other means is trusted as-is.
+
 You can combine `--offline` with `--lts` to install the latest cached LTS version (as long as LTS aliases have been populated by a prior `nvm ls-remote --lts`):
 
 ```sh
diff --git a/nvm.sh b/nvm.sh
index 1f0f0564..1421d70a 100755
--- a/nvm.sh
+++ b/nvm.sh
@@ -3868,25 +3868,36 @@ nvm_download_artifact() {
     nvm_err "Removing the broken local cache..."
     command rm -rf "${TARBALL}"
   fi
+  # `--offline` uses the cached archive without a checksum, so only a verified archive may ever sit at ${TARBALL}
+  local UNVERIFIED_TARBALL
+  UNVERIFIED_TARBALL="${TARBALL}.unverified"
+  command rm -f "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}"
+
   nvm_err "Downloading $(nvm_sanitize_url "${TARBALL_URL}")..."
   # stdout is reserved for the tarball path, so nothing the downloader prints may reach it
-  nvm_download -L -C - "${PROGRESS_BAR}" "${TARBALL_URL}" -o "${TARBALL}" >&2 || {
-    command rm -rf "${TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
+  nvm_download -L -C - "${PROGRESS_BAR}" "${TARBALL_URL}" -o "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" >&2 || {
+    command rm -rf "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
     nvm_err "download from $(nvm_sanitize_url "${TARBALL_URL}") failed"
     return 4
   }
 
-  if nvm_grep '404 Not Found' "${TARBALL}" >/dev/null; then
-    command rm -rf "${TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
+  if nvm_grep '404 Not Found' "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" >/dev/null; then
+    command rm -rf "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
     nvm_err "HTTP 404 at URL $(nvm_sanitize_url "${TARBALL_URL}")"
     return 5
   fi
 
-  nvm_compare_checksum "${TARBALL}" "${CHECKSUM}" || {
-    command rm -rf "${tmpdir}/files"
+  nvm_compare_checksum "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${CHECKSUM}" || {
+    command rm -rf "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
     return 6
   }
 
+  command mv -f "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${TARBALL}" || {
+    command rm -rf "${UNVERIFIED_TARBALL}" "${tmpdir}"
+    nvm_err "moving the downloaded archive into the cache at $(nvm_sanitize_path "${TARBALL}") failed"
+    return 7
+  }
+
   nvm_echo "${TARBALL}"
 }
 
diff --git a/test/fast/Unit tests/nvm_download_artifact only caches verified archives b/test/fast/Unit tests/nvm_download_artifact only caches verified archives
new file mode 100755
index 00000000..656d40a9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/fast/Unit tests/nvm_download_artifact only caches verified archives	
@@ -0,0 +1,79 @@
+#!/bin/sh
+
+WORK="${TMPDIR:-/tmp}/nvm_download_artifact_cache.$$"
+
+cleanup () {
+  command rm -rf "${WORK}"
+  unset -f cleanup die download_offline nvm_get_mirror nvm_binary_available nvm_get_download_slug nvm_get_artifact_compression nvm_cache_dir nvm_get_checksum nvm_version_greater_than_or_equal_to nvm_download nvm_compare_checksum
+}
+die () { echo "$@" ; cleanup ; exit 1; }
+
+: nvm.sh
+\. ../../../nvm.sh
+
+\. ../../common.sh
+
+TEST_SLUG='node-v20.0.0-linux-x64'
+TEST_CACHE_DIR="${WORK}/.cache/bin/${TEST_SLUG}"
+TEST_TARBALL="${TEST_CACHE_DIR}/${TEST_SLUG}.tar.gz"
+
+nvm_get_mirror() { nvm_echo 'http://example.com'; }
+nvm_binary_available() { return 0; }
+nvm_get_download_slug() { nvm_echo "${TEST_SLUG}"; }
+nvm_get_artifact_compression() { nvm_echo 'tar.gz'; }
+nvm_cache_dir() { nvm_echo "${WORK}/.cache"; }
+nvm_get_checksum() { nvm_echo 'fake_checksum'; }
+nvm_version_greater_than_or_equal_to() { return 0; }
+
+# appends "downloaded" to the -o target, and records whether that target is the final cache name
+nvm_download() {
+  while [ "$#" -gt 0 ]; do
+    if [ "$1" = '-o' ]; then
+      if [ "$2" = "${TEST_TARBALL}" ]; then
+        command touch "${WORK}/downloaded-to-final-name"
+      fi
+      nvm_echo 'downloaded' >> "$2"
+      return 0
+    fi
+    shift
+  done
+  return 1
+}
+
+download_offline() {
+  NVM_OFFLINE=1
+  nvm_download_artifact node binary std v20.0.0
+}
+
+command mkdir -p "${WORK}"
+
+# a download with no expected checksum to compare against must not be left in the cache
+# (this uses the real `nvm_compare_checksum`, so it runs before that is mocked)
+nvm_get_checksum() { nvm_echo ''; }
+try nvm_download_artifact node binary std v20.0.0
+[ "${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}" = '6' ] || die "empty checksum: expected exit code 6, got ${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}"
+[ ! -e "${TEST_CACHE_DIR}" ] || die "empty checksum: expected ${TEST_CACHE_DIR} to be removed"
+try download_offline
+[ "${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}" = '4' ] || die "empty checksum: expected --offline to find no cached archive (exit code 4), got ${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}"
+nvm_get_checksum() { nvm_echo 'fake_checksum'; }
+
+# a download that fails its checksum must not be left in the cache either
+nvm_compare_checksum() { return 1; }
+try nvm_download_artifact node binary std v20.0.0
+[ "${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}" = '6' ] || die "checksum mismatch: expected exit code 6, got ${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}"
+[ ! -e "${TEST_CACHE_DIR}" ] || die "checksum mismatch: expected ${TEST_CACHE_DIR} to be removed"
+try download_offline
+[ "${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}" = '4' ] || die "checksum mismatch: expected --offline to find no cached archive (exit code 4), got ${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}"
+
+# a successful download is moved into the cache only once it is verified, replacing any leftover partial download
+nvm_compare_checksum() { return 0; }
+command mkdir -p "${TEST_CACHE_DIR}"
+nvm_echo 'partial' > "${TEST_TARBALL}.unverified"
+try nvm_download_artifact node binary std v20.0.0
+[ "${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}" = '0' ] || die "verified download: expected exit code 0, got ${CAPTURED_EXIT_CODE}"
+[ "${CAPTURED_STDOUT}" = "${TEST_TARBALL}" ] || die "verified download: expected >${TEST_TARBALL}<, got >${CAPTURED_STDOUT}<"
+[ "$(command cat "${TEST_TARBALL}")" = 'downloaded' ] || die "verified download: expected the cached archive to hold only the new download, got >$(command cat "${TEST_TARBALL}")<"
+[ ! -e "${TEST_TARBALL}.unverified" ] || die 'verified download: expected no unverified download to remain in the cache'
+[ ! -e "${WORK}/downloaded-to-final-name" ] || die 'an unverified download was written to the final cache name, where an interrupted download would be left for --offline'
+
+cleanup