Vim: Arbitrary Code Execution via Shell Keyword Lookup (CVE-2026-73077)
Published Last modified Sources: Red Hat, Ubuntu, SUSE, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, BSI
What is affected, what to do
A vulnerability in Vim's shell script plugins (sh.vim, zsh.vim, ps1.vim) allows arbitrary code execution if a user selects maliciously crafted text in Visual mode and triggers a keyword lookup, due to improperly escaped shell metacharacters.
Update Vim to version 9.2.0839.
- Affected
- Vim
lt *..9.2.0839
- Vim
- Fixed in
- Vim
9.2.0839
- Vim
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Metrics
8.4
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: Vendor (CNA), CVSS v4
7.8
CVSS v3
Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: Red Hat, Ubuntu, SUSE, CVE.org, Msrc Update Guide, BSI
0.1 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 3.4
Show all metrics
- Severity
- High
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 65.81 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 8.4 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 7.8
CVSS v4
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 8.4
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.1 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 3.4
- Low — this CVE sits in the lower 10% of all CVEs scored today.
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-78
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- High technical severity: assess and remediate the vulnerability in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2 and document the decision.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
A vulnerability in Vim's shell script plugins (sh.vim, zsh.vim, ps1.vim) allows arbitrary code execution if a user selects maliciously crafted text in Visual mode and triggers a keyword lookup, due to improperly escaped shell metacharacters.
Source: redhat_csaf, Ubuntu Security Notices, suse_csaf, NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, Microsoft Security Update Guide, BSI WID Portal, BSI CSAF
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| vim | vim |
|
|
| Open Source | vim |
|
|
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-78Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')
Base
The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended OS command when it is sent to a downstream component.
Entry at MITRE CWE-78
References & sources
- github.comvim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-r5v6-q6j8-8qw2x_refsource_CONFIRM
- github.comvim/vim/commit/c5a82fe013e73c98004ad7cd4f906b1ad1ed610ex_refsource_MISC
Reanalysis & status changes
Chronological NVD audit events for this CVE — reanalyses, CVSS updates, CPE diffs.
Initial Analysisnvd@nist.gov
- CVSS V3.1: after AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CPE Configuration: after OR *cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 9.2.0839
- Reference Type: after GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/c5a82fe013e73c98004ad7cd4f906b1ad1ed610e Types: Patch
- Reference Type: after GitHub, Inc.: https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-r5v6-q6j8-8qw2 Types: Patch, Vendor Advisory
CVE Modified134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
- SSVC: after {"id":"CVE-2026-73077","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"none"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalI…
New CVE Receivedsecurity-advisories@github.com
- Affected: after vim
- Description: after Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to 9.2.0839, the runtime/ftplugin/sh.vim, runtime/ftplugin/zsh.vim, and runtime/ftplugin/ps1.vim filetype plugins pass attacker-controlled Visual-mode selections from K through keywordprg commands without safely separating shell arguments. fnameescape() and PATH_ESC_CHARS do not neutralize shell metacharacters before ShKeywordPrg, ZshKeywordPrg, or GetHelp invokes bash, zsh, or PowerShell, allowing arbitrary operating-system commands to execute with the privileges of the user running Vim. This issue is fixed in version 9.2.0839.
- CVSS V4.0: after AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
- CWE: after CWE-78
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-73077"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-73077.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-73077 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>