Command execution via overwritten vimball installation record
Published Aug 11, 2026 · Updated Aug 11, 2026
Code injection in Vim before 9.2.0847 allows attackers to execute commands by installing a crafted vimball archive. A .VimballRecord archive member overwrites the plugin's installation record, and vimball#RmVimball() later passes its unchecked Ex commands to :execute. A user must install the attacker-controlled archive and trigger a later vimball operation; commands then run with that user's privileges.
Summary
What happened
Code injection in Vim before 9.2.0847 allows attackers to execute commands by installing a crafted vimball archive. A .VimballRecord archive member overwrites the plugin's installation record, and vimball#RmVimball() later passes its unchecked Ex commands to :execute. A user must install the attacker-controlled archive and trigger a later vimball operation; commands then run with that user's privileges.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-73076
- Published
- Aug 11, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 11, 2026
- Vendor
- Vim
- Product
- Vim
- Classifications
- CWE-94, CWE-829, T1204.002, T1059
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 11, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 11, 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?
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- Affected versionversion=< 9.2.0847
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
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Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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