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Vim < 9.0.2121

medium Nessus Plugin ID 186429

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Synopsis

A text editor installed on the remote host is affected by a vulnerability.

Description

Vim is a UNIX editor that, prior to version 9.0.2121, has a heap-use-after-free vulnerability. When executing a `:s` command for the very first time and using a sub-replace-special atom inside the substitution part, it is possible that the recursive `:s` call causes free-ing of memory which may later then be accessed by the initial `:s` command. The user must intentionally execute the payload and the whole process is a bit tricky to do since it seems to work only reliably for the very first :s command. It may also cause a crash of Vim. Version 9.0.2121 contains a fix for this issue.

Note that Nessus has not tested for this issue but has instead relied only on the application's self-reported version number.

Solution

Upgrade to Vim version 9.0.2121 or later

See Also

http://www.nessus.org/u?21f12ec4

Plugin Details

Severity: Medium

ID: 186429

File Name: vim_9_0_2121.nasl

Version: 1.8

Type: Local

Agent: windows, macosx, unix

Family: Misc.

Published: 11/29/2023

Updated: 4/23/2026

Configuration: Enable thorough checks (optional)

Supported Sensors: Nessus Agent, Nessus

Risk Information

VPR

Risk Factor: Medium

Score: 4.4

CVSS v2

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 4

Temporal Score: 3.1

Vector: CVSS2#AV:L/AC:H/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

CVSS Score Source: CVE-2023-48706

CVSS v3

Risk Factor: Medium

Base Score: 4.7

Temporal Score: 4.2

Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Temporal Vector: CVSS:3.0/E:P/RL:O/RC:C

Vulnerability Information

CPE: cpe:/a:vim:vim

Required KB Items: installed_sw/Vim

Excluded KB Items: Host/MacOSX/Version

Exploit Available: true

Exploit Ease: Exploits are available

Patch Publication Date: 11/22/2023

Vulnerability Publication Date: 11/22/2023

Reference Information

CVE: CVE-2023-48706

IAVA: 2023-A-0650-S