Buffer overflow in Vim
CVE-2024-43802
Vim is an improved version of the unix vi text editor. When flushing the typeahead buffer, Vim moves the current position in the typeahead buffer but does not check whether there is enough space left in the buffer to handle the next characters. So this may lead to the tb_off position within the typebuf variable to point outside of the valid buffer size, which can then later lead to a heap-buffer overflow in e.g. ins_typebuf(). Therefore, when flushing the typeahead buffer, check if there is enough space left before advancing the off position. If not, fall back to flush current typebuf contents. It's not quite clear yet, what can lead to this situation. It seems to happen when error messages occur (which will cause Vim to flush the typeahead buffer) in comnination with several long mappgins and so it may eventually move the off position out of a valid buffer size. Impact is low since it is not easily reproducible and requires to have several mappings active and run into some error condition. But when this happens, this will cause a crash. The issue has been fixed as of Vim patch v9.1.0697. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this issue.
Vulnerability class: Buffer Overflow
EPSS: 0.003 (21.9th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 4.5 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L.
Affected products
- Vim — versions < 9.1.0697
Weakness classification (CWE)
Public proof-of-concept exploits
References
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM)
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_MISC)
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
- af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2024-43802?
- CVE-2024-43802 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vim, classified under Heap-based Buffer Overflow. CVSS score: 4.5/10. Published 2024-08-26.
- How severe is CVE-2024-43802?
- Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 4.5 out of 10.
- Is CVE-2024-43802 known to be exploited?
- 1 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.