CVE-2022-2980Public exploit

Editor crash via uninitialized tab-page index access

Published Aug 25, 2022 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

NULL pointer dereference in Vim before 9.0.0259 allows local users to crash the editor through a script-generated mouse click. The do_mouse() path indexes the TabPageIdxs array when a mouse event targets the tab line even though that array has not been initialized. Processing a Vim script that enables mouse handling and issues a left-click reaches the invalid access, terminating only the editor process.

CVSS severity5.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.86%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

NULL pointer dereference in Vim before 9.0.0259 allows local users to crash the editor through a script-generated mouse click. The do_mouse() path indexes the TabPageIdxs array when a mouse event targets the tab line even though that array has not been initialized. Processing a Vim script that enables mouse handling and issues a left-click reaches the invalid access, terminating only the editor process.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-2980
Published
Aug 25, 2022
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Vim
Product
Vim
Classifications
CWE-476, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 25, 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

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Is a vulnerable build present?

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

  1. Affected versionversion=unspecified <9.0.0259

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Vim · Vimversion=unspecified <9.0.0259

Published CVSS scores

6.3huntr.dev CNACVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
5.5NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 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

Public exploit references

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

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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