CVE-2026-25749Public exploit

Crash via unchecked helpfile option copy

Published Feb 6, 2026 · Updated Feb 6, 2026

Heap buffer overflow in Vim before 9.1.2132 allows local users to crash the editor by setting 'helpfile' and running :help. Vim's get_tagfname() in src/tag.c copies the unbounded 'helpfile' value with STRCPY() into a MAXPATHL + 1 heap buffer. The option must exceed MAXPATHL and the :help command must execute; the grounded consequence is heap corruption and an application crash.

CVSS severity6.6
Medium
EPSS probability0.22%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Heap buffer overflow in Vim before 9.1.2132 allows local users to crash the editor by setting 'helpfile' and running :help. Vim's get_tagfname() in src/tag.c copies the unbounded 'helpfile' value with STRCPY() into a MAXPATHL + 1 heap buffer. The option must exceed MAXPATHL and the :help command must execute; the grounded consequence is heap corruption and an application crash.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-25749
Published
Feb 6, 2026
Updated
Feb 6, 2026
Vendor
Vim
Product
Vim
Classifications
CWE-122, T1203
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 6, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 6, 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=< 9.1.2132

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Vim · Vimversion=< 9.1.2132

Published CVSS scores

6.6GitHubCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.

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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
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-122Heap-based Buffer Overflow
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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