Description
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.2.0450, a heap buffer overflow exists in read_compound() in src/spellfile.c when loading a crafted spell file (.spl) with UTF-8 encoding active. An attacker-controlled length field in the spell file's compound section overflows a 32-bit signed integer multiplication, causing a small buffer to be allocated for a write loop that runs many iterations, overflowing the heap. Because the 'spelllang' option can be set from a modeline, a text file modeline can trigger spell file loading if a malicious .spl file has been planted on the runtimepath. This issue has been patched in version 9.2.0450.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| vim | vim | < 9.2.0450 | — |
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 | 2:9.2.0461-1 | — |
| Debian 13 | vim | 2:9.1.1230-2+deb13u1 | — |
| Debian 12 | vim | No fix yet | — |
Ubuntu
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu 26.04 LTS | vim | 2:9.1.2141-1ubuntu4.2 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu 25.10 | vim | 2:9.1.0967-1ubuntu6.5 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu 24.04 LTS | vim | 2:9.1.0016-1ubuntu7.14 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu 22.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.2.3995-1ubuntu2.30 | USN-8304-1 |
Show 4 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu Pro 20.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.1.2269-1ubuntu5.32+esm5 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 18.04 LTS | vim | 2:8.0.1453-1ubuntu1.13+esm17 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 16.04 LTS | vim | 2:7.4.1689-3ubuntu1.5+esm32 | USN-8304-1 |
| Ubuntu Pro 14.04 LTS | vim | 2:7.4.052-1ubuntu3.1+esm26 | USN-8304-1 |
Red Hat
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red Hat Hardened Images 1 | vim +8 | 9.2.967-1.1.hum1 | RHSA-2026:57614 |
SUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES 15 SP4 | vim | 9.2.0530-150000.5.94.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 |
Show 5 more (older releases, extended support, other products)Fewer releases
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLES for SAP 15 SP4 | vim | 9.2.0530-150000.5.94.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 |
| SLE Micro 6.2 | vim | 9.2.0530-160000.1.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:21833-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.4 | vim | 9.2.0530-150000.5.94.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 |
| SLE Micro 5.3 | vim | 9.2.0530-150000.5.94.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 |
| SLE HPC 15 SP4 | vim | 9.2.0530-150000.5.94.1 | SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 |
openSUSE
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| openSUSE Tumbleweed | vim | 9.2.0530-1.1 | openSUSE-SU-2026:11114-1 |
Alpine
Security tracker ↗| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine v3.24 | vim | 9.2.0452-r0 | — |
| Alpine v3.23 | vim | 9.2.0452-r0 | — |
Amazon Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon Linux 2023 | xxd +6 | 2:9.2.597-1.amzn2023.0.1 | ALAS2023-2026-1862 |
Azure Linux
| Release | Package | Fixed in | Advisory |
|---|---|---|---|
| Azure Linux 3 | vim | 9.2.0461-1 | — |
Advisories 7
- WID-SEC-2026-1442 vim: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Denial of Service BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Nov 1, 2026
- RHSA-2026:57614 Red Hat Security Advisory: Red Hat Hardened Images RPMs bug fix and enhancement update Red Hat Security Advisories (RHSA) · Oct 17, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:21833-1 Security update for vim SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jul 9, 2026
- openSUSE-SU-2026:11114-1 gvim-9.2.0530-1.1 on GA media SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jun 24, 2026
- ALAS2023-2026-1862 Important: vim security update (Amazon Linux 2023) Amazon Linux Security Center (ALAS) · Jun 22, 2026
- SUSE-SU-2026:2313-1 Security update for vim SUSE / openSUSE Security Updates · Jun 10, 2026
- USN-8304-1 vim vulnerabilities Ubuntu Security Notices (USN) · May 26, 2026