Low severity · published Aug 11, 2026
CVE-2026-73071
Vim: Use-after-free in JSON Decoding
3.3
CVSS
0.1%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. From 9.2.0511 until 9.2.0844, json_decode_item() in src/json.c can retain a stale pointer after json_decode_string() invokes channel_fill() to refill and free the current buffer, causing the error path to read freed memory instead of reader->js_buf + reader->js_used when an invalid JSON string spans buffers. This issue is fixed in version 9.2.0844.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.1% · higher than 1% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
VI
vim · vim
>= 9.2.0511, < 9.2.0844 · source: vendor, NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73071
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-73071
Patch
https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/f8126294a526aa80c5123eb3079e325daee9ec75
Product
https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/tag/v9.2.0844
Patch
https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-69ch-22ch-r887
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