Skip to main content

Vim CVE-2026-25749

MEDIUM
Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122)
2026-02-06 security-advisories@github.com
Buffer Overflow Heap Overflow Vim
6.6
CVSS 3.1 · GitHub Advisory
View

Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
CWE-122
OWASP Top 10:2025
A06:2021 - Vulnerable and Outdated Components
ASVS 5.0
V15 - Secure Coding and Architecture Heap buffer bounds checking
MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique across 1 tactic: Execution

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

Sign in to read
Impact

CVSS 6.6 (MEDIUM). Attack vector: Local. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: Low. User interaction: Required. Public exploit/POC available.
Exploit ScenarioDerived

An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Why: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9).
Patch available 0.0% exploitation probability (EPSS)

Get an e-mail when this CVE is exploited, patched or re-scored. Free account.

Alert me

AnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026

Heap buffer overflow in Vim's tag file resolution allows local attackers with user privileges to corrupt heap memory and crash the application or potentially execute code by supplying a malicious 'helpfile' option value. The vulnerability exists in the get_tagfname() function which fails to validate the length of user-controlled input before copying it into a fixed-size buffer. Public exploit code exists for this issue affecting Vim prior to version 9.1.2132, though a patch is available.

Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
v1 Mar 12, 2026 - 21:54 CVSS 6.6

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.2132, a heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Vim's tag file resolution logic when processing the 'helpfile' option. [CVSS 6.6 MEDIUM]

RemediationAI

A vendor patch is available — apply it immediately. Fixed in version 9.1.2132.. Enable ASLR, DEP/NX, and stack canaries where possible.

Affects your stack

Find out whether the stacks and servers you run are on an affected version.

Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Sign in to check
Technical ContextAI · show details

Classified as CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow). Affects Vim. Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.2132, a heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Vim's tag file resolution logic when processing the 'helpfile' option. The vulnerability is located in the get_tagfname() function in src/tag.c. When processing help file tags, Vim copies the user-controlled 'helpfile' option value into a fixed-size heap buffer of MAXPATHL + 1 bytes (typically 4097 bytes) using an unsafe STRCPY() operation without any bounds checking. This i

Know when Vim gets its next vulnerability

  • Watch products and get an email when something new is published
  • Check this CVE against your own stack and servers
  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
Continue with Google Continue with GitHub

No credit card · 7-day full trial

Severity by source

GitHub Advisory PRIMARY 6.6 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
SUSE MEDIUM
Red Hat 7.3 MEDIUM

Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.

CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory

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

Lifecycle Timeline

3
PoC Detected
Feb 20, 2026 - 15:45 vuln.today
Public exploit code
Patch released
Feb 20, 2026 - 15:45 nvd
Patch available
CVE Published
Feb 06, 2026 - 23:15 nvd
MEDIUM 6.6

DescriptionGitHub Advisory

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.2132, a heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Vim's tag file resolution logic when processing the 'helpfile' option. The vulnerability is located in the get_tagfname() function in src/tag.c. When processing help file tags, Vim copies the user-controlled 'helpfile' option value into a fixed-size heap buffer of MAXPATHL + 1 bytes (typically 4097 bytes) using an unsafe STRCPY() operation without any bounds checking. This issue has been patched in version 9.1.2132.

Executive ViewAI

Why It Matters

Organizations using Vim should be aware of notable risk from CVE-2026-25749, a heap-based buffer overflow vulnerability rated CVSS 6.6. Exploitation could cause memory corruption or application crashes. Proof-of-concept code is publicly available. A patch is available and should be applied during regular vulnerability management.

Business Impact: Moderate
Compensating Controls

Apply vendor patch. If patching is delayed: enable ASLR/DEP, apply network segmentation.

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.0%
Top 98% exploitable
Exploit
POC
Public exploit code exists
Data Quality
6 sources
Confidence: High
NVD CVE.org EPSS Vendor GitHub VulDB

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

Exploitation· derived
Poc
System Exposure· derived
Small
Automatable· derived
No

Priority Score

53
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: 0
CVSS: +33
PoC: +20
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Buffer Overflow HIGH

A buffer overflow occurs when a program writes more data to a memory buffer than it was allocated to hold, causing the excess data to spill into adjacent memory regions.

Heap Overflow HIGH

A heap overflow occurs when a program writes data beyond the bounds of a buffer allocated in the heap memory region.

Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory

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

More in Vim

View all
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

CVE-2026-34714 HIGH POC
8.6 Mar 30

Code execution vulnerability in Vim before 9.2.0272 allows attackers to gain immediate arbitrary command execution upon

CVE-2019-12735 HIGH POC
8.6 Jun 05

getchar.c in Vim before 8.1.1365 and Neovim before 0.3.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via th
CVE-2021-3968 HIGH POC
8.0 Nov 19

vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploita
CVE-2022-1616 HIGH POC
7.8 May 07

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
7.8 May 08

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
7.8 Dec 19

vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication
CVE-2021-3973 HIGH POC
7.8 Nov 19

vim is vulnerable to Heap-based Buffer Overflow. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication
CVE-2021-3927 HIGH POC
7.8 Nov 05

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
7.8 Jun 19

Out-of-bounds Read in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 8.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no a

Same weakness CWE-122 – Heap-based Buffer Overflow

View all
CVE-2023-4911 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2023-27997 CRITICAL
9.8
CVE-2026-94127 CRITICAL POC
9.3
CVE-2025-25249 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2026-85880 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2025-24985 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2026-53362 HIGH POC
7.8
CVE-2025-21418 HIGH
7.8

Same technique Buffer Overflow

View all
CVE-2017-7269 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-5119 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2015-3113 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2011-2462 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2020-0796 CRITICAL POC
10.0
CVE-2019-11043 CRITICAL POC
9.8
CVE-2009-0927 HIGH POC
8.8
CVE-2012-1889 HIGH POC
8.8

Vendor StatusVendor

SUSE

Severity: Medium
Product Status
SUSE Liberty Linux 8 Fixed
SUSE Liberty Linux 9 Fixed
SLES15-SP5-CHOST-BYOS-SAP-CCloud Fixed
SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS Fixed
SLES15-SP6-CHOST-BYOS-Aliyun Fixed

References

Advisories & patches
PATCH https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/0714b15940b245108e6e9d7aa2260dd849a26fa9 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:4442 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:4715 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:5602 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6502 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6539 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6540 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6617 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6619 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6620 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6729 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6730 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6731 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6736 ADVISORY https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7335 ADVISORY https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-8101-1 ADVISORY https://vuldb.com/?id.344820 REF https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/tag/v9.1.2132

Search Externally

GitHub PoC Exploit-DB PacketStorm Snyk Rapid7 Nuclei Templates Trickest PoC
Back

This site uses cookies essential for authentication and security. No tracking or analytics cookies are used. Privacy Policy