CVE-2023-48235

Editor crash via relative Ex address overflow

Published Nov 16, 2023 · Updated Jun 23, 2026

Integer overflow in Ex address parsing in Vim before 9.0.2110 allows local users to crash the editor through a crafted relative address. In get_address() in src/ex_docmd.c, a negative line number reaches LONG_MAX - lnum inside the overflow guard, so the guard's subtraction itself overflows. The user must cause Vim to parse the crafted Ex command, and the only reported consequence is an intermittent editor crash.

CVSS severity2.8
Low
EPSS probability0.76%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Integer overflow in Ex address parsing in Vim before 9.0.2110 allows local users to crash the editor through a crafted relative address. In get_address() in src/ex_docmd.c, a negative line number reaches LONG_MAX - lnum inside the overflow guard, so the guard's subtraction itself overflows. The user must cause Vim to parse the crafted Ex command, and the only reported consequence is an intermittent editor crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-48235
Published
Nov 16, 2023
Updated
Jun 23, 2026
Vendor
Vim
Product
Vim
Classifications
CWE-190, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Nov 16, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 23, 2026Record 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=< 9.0.2110

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Vim · Vimversion=< 9.0.2110

Published CVSS scores

4.3NISTCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
2.8GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-190Integer Overflow or Wraparound
T1203Exploitation for Client Execution

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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