CVE-2022-2874Public exploit

Local crash via NULL pointer in Vim9 compiler

Published Aug 18, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

NULL pointer dereference in Vim before 9.0.0224 allows local users to crash the editor via crafted Vim9 script compilation. The Vim9 compiler generated variable-load instructions even while compiling skipped code, using a NULL local-variable pointer; patch 9.0.0224 adds a skip-state guard. Exploitation requires opening or compiling attacker-controlled Vim9 script content with user interaction and impacts availability of the Vim process only.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.48%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
Coverage for this vulnerability

See if you're affected

Explore vulnerability checks for your environment with Hinoki.

Book a demo

Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Vim before 9.0.0224 allows local users to crash the editor via crafted Vim9 script compilation. The Vim9 compiler generated variable-load instructions even while compiling skipped code, using a NULL local-variable pointer; patch 9.0.0224 adds a skip-state guard. Exploitation requires opening or compiling attacker-controlled Vim9 script content with user interaction and impacts availability of the Vim process only.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-2874
Published
Aug 18, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Vim
Product
Vim
Classifications
CWE-476, T1203, T1204
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 18, 2022CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <9.0.0224

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Vim · Vimversion=unspecified <9.0.0224

Published CVSS scores

5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
6.6huntr.devCVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 9, 2026Sep 15, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 15, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-476NULL Pointer Dereference
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution
T1204User Execution

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

See the directory against your own environment.

Your stack

Check the software in your environment

Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.

Book a demo