Description
Vifm 0.8.1-beta through 0.14.4 reuses a pre-existing IPC FIFO in the shared temporary directory without checking ownership, allowing local users to execute commands as another user. Attackers can pre-create a world-writable vifm-ipc-vifm FIFO and write IPC packets with -c and ! shell commands that execute with the victim's privileges.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| vifm | vifm | 0.8.1-beta – ≤ 0.14.4 | — |
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 | vifm | 0.14.5-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Debian 12 | vifm | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.10 | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 20.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
Show 2 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 18.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
| Ubuntu 16.04 LTS | vifm | No fix yet | — |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | vifm | 0.14.5-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:12311-1 |
Advisories 1
- openSUSE-SU-2026:12311-1 vifm-0.14.5-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Oct 28, 2026
References
- https://hackmd.io/@1ExmmukzRMWN7B4gQ4W-4Q/SkX7Pmiofg third-party-advisory
- https://github.com/vifm/vifm/blob/v0.14.4/src/ipc.c#L394-L443 technical-description
- https://github.com/vifm/vifm/blob/v0.14.4/src/ipc.c#L866-L874 technical-description
- v0.14.4 Release Notes release-notes
- VulnCheck Advisory: Vifm 0.8.1-beta through 0.14.4 Unverified IPC FIFO Ownership Allows Cross-User Command Execution third-party-advisory