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Vim CVE-2025-53906

MEDIUM
Path Traversal (CWE-22)
2025-07-15 security-advisories@github.com
RCE Path Traversal Red Hat Vim Suse
4.1
CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-22
OWASP Top 10:2025
A01:2025 - Broken Access Control
ASVS 5.0
V5 - File Handling Path canonicalization, traversal prevention
MITRE ATT&CK

2 techniques across 2 tactics: Discovery, Collection

The technique list with ATT&CK links and the kill-chain view is part of the Basic plan and up.

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Impact

The risk assessment reveals significant divergence between CVSS severity and actual exploitability. CVSS 4.1 (low) accurately reflects the local attack vector (AV:L), high attack complexity (AC:H), and requirement for user interaction (UI:R), limiting scope to low integrity and availability impact (C:N/I:L/A:L). However, the EPSS score of 0.03% (7th percentile) indicates minimal real-world exploitation probability, consistent with the high friction introduced by requiring a user to deliberately open a malicious zip file in Vim and observe suspicious filenames. The availability of public exploit code slightly elevates concern, but without confirmed active exploitation (no KEV status) and given the obvious user-observable signs of attack (strange filenames and paths revealed during editing), this remains a low-priority vulnerability for most environments. Organizations with users who routinely process untrusted zip archives in Vim should prioritize patching; others can defer to standard update cycles.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker crafts a malicious zip archive containing path traversal sequences (e.g., entries like '../../.ssh/authorized_keys' or '../../bin/malicious_script') and distributes it via email or a compromised website. When a user opens the archive with Vim (either directly or via the editor's file browser), the zip.vim plugin extracts files to their traversed paths, potentially overwriting SSH keys, scripts in PATH directories, or configuration files if the Vim process runs with sufficient permissions. The attack succeeds silently during extraction, though the user may notice unusual filenames during editing, providing a window for defensive action. Publicly available exploit code demonstrates the feasibility of crafting such archives, though widespread exploitation is unlikely due to the required user interaction and observability of attack indicators.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAIv1 – Apr 01, 2026

Path traversal in Vim's zip.vim plugin prior to version 9.1.1551 allows local attackers to overwrite arbitrary files when a user opens a specially crafted zip archive, potentially enabling arbitrary command execution if sensitive files or privileged locations are targeted. The vulnerability requires direct user interaction (opening a malicious zip file in Vim) and has low real-world impact due to high attack complexity and local attack vector, though publicly available exploit code exists. EPSS exploitation probability is minimal at 0.03% (7th percentile), reflecting the friction imposed by user interaction requirements.

RemediationAI

Upgrade Vim to version 9.1.1551 or later, which contains the upstream fix committed to the official repository (commit 586294a04179d855c3d1d4ee5ea83931963680b8). For users unable to immediately upgrade, avoid opening untrusted or suspicious zip archives in Vim; instead, use alternative tools (unzip, 7-Zip, archive managers) for extracting and inspecting zip contents before processing in the editor. The fix is available via standard channels: official Vim releases, GitHub releases, and most Linux distribution package managers. Refer to the GitHub security advisory (GHSA-r2fw-9cw4-mj86) for platform-specific installation guidance and verification steps.

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Technical ContextAI · show details

Vim's zip.vim plugin (a built-in script for handling zip archive operations within the editor) fails to properly validate file paths when extracting or processing contents from zip files, violating CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory). When a user opens a crafted zip archive containing path traversal sequences (e.g., '../' entries), the plugin writes files outside the intended extraction directory. This affects all versions of Vim prior to 9.1.1551 across all platforms and distributions covered by the affected CPE cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*. The underlying issue stems from insufficient sanitization of extracted file paths before filesystem operations.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY 4.1 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 4.1 MEDIUM

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
High
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low

Lifecycle Timeline

3
Patch released
Apr 01, 2026 - 19:26 nvd
Patch available
PoC Detected
Apr 01, 2026 - 19:16 vuln.today
Public exploit code
CVE Published
Jul 15, 2025 - 21:15 nvd
MEDIUM 4.1

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.1551, a path traversal issue in Vim’s zip.vim plugin can allow overwriting of arbitrary files when opening specially crafted zip archives. Impact is low because this exploit requires direct user interaction. However, successfully exploitation can lead to overwriting sensitive files or placing executable code in privileged locations, depending on the permissions of the process editing the archive. The victim must edit such a file using Vim which will reveal the filename and the file content, a careful user may suspect some strange things going on. Successful exploitation could results in the ability to execute arbitrary commands on the underlying operating system. Version 9.1.1551 contains a patch for the vulnerability.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 93% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
4 sources
Confidence: Medium
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity MEDIUM
CISA KEV No
Public POC Yes
EPSS 0.0%
Patch available Yes
Active threat No
Deciding rule
MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

40
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +20
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Path Traversal HIGH

Path traversal exploits occur when applications use user-controlled input to construct file system paths without proper validation.

Remote Code Execution CRITICAL

Remote Code Execution represents the critical moment when an attacker successfully runs arbitrary code on a target system without physical access.

Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory

cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

More in Vim

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CVE-2022-3520 CRITICAL POC
9.8 Dec 02

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 9.0.0765. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vuln
CVE-2022-0729 HIGH POC
8.8 Feb 23

Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2.4440. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this

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getchar.c in Vim before 8.1.1365 and Neovim before 0.3.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via th
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CVE-2022-1616 HIGH POC
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Use after free in append_command in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2.4895. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vu
CVE-2022-1619 HIGH POC
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Heap-based Buffer Overflow in function cmdline_erase_chars in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2.4899. Rated high se
CVE-2021-4136 HIGH POC
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vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication
CVE-2021-3973 HIGH POC
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vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication
CVE-2021-3927 HIGH POC
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vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication
CVE-2022-2125 HIGH POC
7.8 Jun 19

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability
CVE-2022-2126 HIGH POC
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Same weakness CWE-22 – Path Traversal

View all
CVE-2019-3396 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2019-19781 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2020-5902 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2021-21972 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2021-40444 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2022-41352 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2021-27065 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2019-11510 CRITICAL POC
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Same technique RCE

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CVE-2021-44228 CRITICAL POC
10.0
CVE-2017-7269 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2022-47966 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2012-4681 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2023-3519 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-5119 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2016-4117 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-3113 CRITICAL POC
9.8

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
Container rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.0-baremetal Container rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.0-base Container rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.0-kvm Container rancher/elemental-channel/sl-micro:6.0-rt Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-iso-image:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-iso-image:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/kvm-iso-image:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/rt-iso-image:latest Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/baremetal-iso-image:2.2.1-5.70 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/base-iso-image:2.2.1-5.86 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/kvm-iso-image:2.2.1-5.97 Container suse/sl-micro/6.1/rt-iso-image:2.2.1-5.74 Affected
Container suse/manager/5.0/x86_64/server:latest Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP7-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-EC2 Affected
Container suse/multi-linux-manager/5.1/x86_64/server:5.1.1.8.7.1 Container suse/sle-micro/5.5/toolbox:14.2-3.12.93 Image SLES15-SP5-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP5-Azure-Basic Image SLES15-SP5-Azure-Standard Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP5-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-SAP-Hardened-GCE Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-Azure Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-EC2 Image SLES15-SP5-SAPCAL-GCE Image SLES15-SP6 Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-Basic Image SLES15-SP6-Azure-Standard Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-GDC Image SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Image SLES15-SP6-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-EC2-ECS-HVM Image SLES15-SP6-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-HPC Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-HPC-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-LI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Azure-VLI-BYOS-Production Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAP-Hardened-GCE Image SLES15-SP6-SAPCAL Image SLES15-SP6-SAPCAL-Azure Image SLES15-SP6-SAPCAL-EC2 Image SLES15-SP6-SAPCAL-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-Basic Image SLES15-SP7-Azure-Standard Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-EC2-ECS-HVM Image SLES15-SP7-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-GCE-3P Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-HPC-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Azure-3P Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-GCE-3P Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-BYOS-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAP-Hardened-GCE Image SLES15-SP7-SAPCAL-Azure Image SLES15-SP7-SAPCAL-EC2 Image SLES15-SP7-SAPCAL-GCE Image server-image Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/baremetal-os-container:2.1.3-6.137 Affected
Container suse/sl-micro/6.0/base-os-container:latest Affected

References

Advisories & patches
PATCH https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/586294a04179d855c3d1d4ee5ea83931963680b8 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:17644 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:17715 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:17742 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:17913 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:19088 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:20066 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:20945 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:21015 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:21994 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:22868 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23078 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23079 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2025:23080 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3461 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:3462 ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2025:03240/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2025:03299/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2025:03300/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2025:20696/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2025:20857/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:0910/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:1051/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:1095/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20312/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20712/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20717/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20738/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20741/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20759/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20765/ ADVISORY https://www.suse.com/support/update/SUSE-SU-2026:20916/ REF http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2025/07/15/2 REF http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2026/04/01/4

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