CVE-2026-28418: vim Heap-based Buffer Overflow
Vulnerability summary
CVE-2026-28418 is a medium (CVSS 5.5) Heap-based Buffer Overflow vulnerability in vim. EPSS estimates a 0.23% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 13% of scored vulnerabilities.
Advisory lineage
Upstream 0 · Downstream 4 · Related 4Timeline
- 27-02-2026PublishedVulnerability first disclosed.
- 02-03-2026Last modifiedVulnerability information updated.
Description
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.2.0074, a heap-based buffer overflow out-of-bounds read exists in Vim's Emacs-style tags file parsing logic. When processing a malformed tags file, Vim can be tricked into reading up to 7 bytes beyond the allocated memory boundary. Version 9.2.0074 fixes the issue.
CVSS metrics
5 scores · 5 sources · 1 version- CVE.orgCNA4.4MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:NDiffers
- OSV · AlpineEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · UbuntuEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
- OSV · DebianEcosystem advisory · calculated5.5MediumCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
EPSS trend
Probability
0.23%
Chance of exploitation in the next 30 days
Percentile
13%
Versus all other CVEs
30-day change
+0.01 pp
From 0.22% on 19-09-2026
Known exploited
Compare KEV catalogsNot in any of the 3 tracked catalogs.
Public exploits
0 foundNo public exploits indexed.
Weaknesses
CWE · root cause- CWE-122Heap-based Buffer OverflowA heap overflow condition is a buffer overflow, where the buffer that can be overwritten is allocated in the heap portion of memory, generally meaning that the buffer was allocated using a routine such as malloc().
- CWE-125Out-of-bounds ReadThe product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.
Affected systems
Alpine1 product
- vim< 9.2.0078-r0
Debian1 product
- vimAll versions (No fix recorded) | < 2:9.2.0119-1
Ubuntu1 product
- vim< 2:7.4.052-1ubuntu3.1+esm23 | < 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.5+esm29 | < 2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1.13+esm14 | < 2:8.1.2269-1ubuntu5.32+esm2 | < 2:8.2.3995-1ubuntu2.26 | < 2:9.1.0016-1ubuntu7.10 | < 2:9.1.0967-1ubuntu6.1 | < 2:9.1.2141-1ubuntu2
Vim1 product
- vim< 9.2.0074
4 vendors · 4 products
References
10 links- github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-h4mf-vg97-hj8jX Refsource CONFIRMREPORTPatchVendor Advisory