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.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| vim | vim | < 9.1.1115 | — |
Fixed in Linux distributions
Distributions backport fixes, so the version that fixes this vulnerability differs per release — upgrade to at least the version shown. From the distributions' security trackers and advisories.
Debian
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debian 14 | vim | 2:9.1.1230-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | vim | 2:9.1.1230-1 | — |
| Debian 12 | vim | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | vim | 2:9.1.0016-1ubuntu7.8 | USN-7419-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.2.3995-1ubuntu2.24 | USN-7419-1 |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.1.2269-1ubuntu5.32 | USN-7419-1 |
Show 3 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1.13+esm12 | USN-7419-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | vim | 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.5+esm27 | USN-7419-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | vim | 2:7.4.052-1ubuntu3.1+esm21 | USN-7419-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | vim | 9.1.1164-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | vim | 9.1.1164-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.22 | vim | 9.1.1164-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | xxd +6 | 2:9.1.1202-1.amzn2023.0.1 | ALAS2023-2025-932 |
| Amazon Linux 2 | xxd +6 | 2:9.0.2153-1.amzn2.0.4 | ALAS2-2025-2827 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | vim | 9.1.0791-4 | — |
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | vim | 9.1.0791-4 | — |
Advisories 4
- USN-7419-1 vim vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · Jun 25, 2026
- WID-SEC-2025-0408 vim: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Manipulation von Dateien BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Apr 16, 2025
- ALAS2-2025-2827 Moderate: vim security update (Amazon Linux 2) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Apr 16, 2025
- ALAS2023-2025-932 Moderate: vim security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Apr 14, 2025