CVE-2023-48706 — Vim is a UNIX editor that, prior to version 9

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 m

01What is this vulnerability?

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…

02Affected products

No structured affected-product list available — see references below for vendor advisories.

03Active exploitation status

Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Ask SARA in chat to draft a starting detection for this CVE in your stack of choice.

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2023-11-22T22:15:08.673
• Last modified: 2026-09-17T17:59:18.660

09References

• www.openwall.com — http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/11/22/3
• github.com — https://github.com/gandalf4a/crash_report/blob/main/vim/vim_huaf
• github.com — https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/26c11c56888d01e298cd8044caf860f3c26f57bb
• github.com — https://github.com/vim/vim/pull/13552
• github.com — https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-c8qm-x72m-q53q
• lists.fedoraproject.org — https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]…
• lists.fedoraproject.org — https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/[email protected]…
• security.netapp.com — https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20240105-0001/
• www.openwall.com — http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2023/11/22/3
• github.com — https://github.com/gandalf4a/crash_report/blob/main/vim/vim_huaf