VulnerabilityAnalyzed

CVE-2025-26603

Vim allows to redirect screen messages using the `:redir` ex command to register, variables and files.

MEDIUM 4.2EPSS 0.23%

Does this matter?

Lower severity and a low EPSS score (0.23%). Track it; it rarely justifies an emergency change on its own.

Description

Vim is a greatly improved version of the good old UNIX editor Vi. Vim allows to redirect screen messages using the `:redir` ex command to register, variables and files. It also allows to show the contents of registers using the `:registers` or `:display` ex command. When redirecting the output of `:display` to a register, Vim will free the register content before storing the new content in the register. Now when redirecting the `:display` command to a register that is being displayed, Vim will free the content while shortly afterwards trying to access it, which leads to a use-after-free. Vim pre 9.1.1115 checks in the ex_display() function, that it does not try to redirect to a register while displaying this register at the same time. However this check is not complete, and so Vim does not check the `+` and `*` registers (which typically donate the X11/clipboard registers, and when a clipboard connection is not possible will fall back to use register 0 instead. In Patch 9.1.1115 Vim will therefore skip outputting to register zero when trying to redirect to the clipboard registers `*` or `+`. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

CVSS 3.1: 4.2 MEDIUMCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS: 0.23% probability · 14th percentile
CISA KEV: Not listed
Weakness: CWE-416
Affected: vim/vim · netapp/hci compute node
Source: security-advisories@github.com

References

https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/c0f0e2380e5954f4a52a131bf6b8Patch
https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-63p5-mwg2-787vVendor Advisory
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20250306-0003/Third Party Advisory

Source: NVD record, EPSS from FIRST.org, KEV from CISA. Refreshed daily.