Use-After-Free in Vim (CVE-2023-48706)
Summary
Vulnerability in Vim (CVE-2023-48706). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Original description
The description as published by the source.
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.
Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database NVD
Auto-generated summary
Assembled by SecPulse from the source data (CVSS, CWE, affected versions) using templates — no AI involved. Check the original description and references below for exact details.
A vulnerability tracked as CVE-2023-48706 has been found in Vim.
Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure. CVSS score: 3.6/10.
What to do: apply the vendor's official patched release.
If unsure, ask your IT team or search "Vim CVE-2023-48706" on the vendor's site.
CVE-2023-48706 (Vim) — CWE-416 / CVSS v3 3.6
Attack vector: local / unauthenticated
Plan: 1) Audit SBOM/dependencies, 2) Stage→prod upgrade, 3) Add WAF/proxy monitoring on affected endpoints, 4) Hunt IOCs in logs.
Refs: see the GHSA / vendor advisory / patched release linked on this page.
Use-after-free (CWE-416) exists in Vim.
Check the vendor advisory for the affected versions of Vim.
Severity: Low (CVSS 3.6/10). Risk of unauthorized operations or information disclosure.
Update to the patched release per vendor advisory.
Until the patch is applied: disable the affected feature, apply WAF rules, or restrict access via network ACLs.
Search webserver/proxy logs for unusual request patterns matching this CVE's known IOCs. Run grep -r 'Vim' . against your dependency files (package-lock.json, requirements.txt, go.sum) to find affected services.
Response actions
Concrete steps and command examples for SOC/SRE teams to execute in order
-
1Identify exposure identify
grep -r 'Vim' . | grep -v node_modulesリポジトリと本番環境の依存ファイル (package-lock.json / requirements.txt / go.sum / Gemfile.lock 等) で
Vimを grep し、稼働しているサービス・バージョンを把握する。 -
2Post-deployment verification verify
Confirm patched version is live in productionパッチ適用後、ステージングで PoC または同等の悪用パターンを再現して脆弱性が閉じたことを確認。本番ではアクセスログ・WAF でアラート再発が無いか継続監視。
Fix status by distribution
Fixed packages published by each distribution for this CVE
- Debian DEBIAN-CVE-2023-48706 vim
References
- exploit github.com
- exploit github.com
- patch openwall.com
- patch github.com
- patch github.com
- patch lists.fedoraproject.org
- patch lists.fedoraproject.org
- patch security.netapp.com