Description
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Vim is distributed with the tar.vim plugin, that allows easy editing and viewing of (compressed or uncompressed) tar files. Starting with 9.1.0858, the tar.vim plugin uses the ":read" ex command line to append below the cursor position, however the is not sanitized and is taken literally from the tar archive. This allows to execute shell commands via special crafted tar archives. Whether this really happens, depends on the shell being used ('shell' option, which is set using $SHELL). The issue has been fixed as of Vim patch v9.1.1164
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| vim | vim | < 9.1.1164 | — |
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 | — |
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 | — |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | vim | 9.1.1164-1 | — |
| Azure Linux 2 (CBL-Mariner) | vim | 9.1.1164-1 | — |
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2025-0470 vim (tar.vim plugin): Schwachstelle ermöglicht Codeausführung BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Mar 4, 2025