High severity · published Aug 11, 2026
CVE-2026-73077
Vim: Arbitrary Code Execution via Shell Keyword Lookup
7.8
CVSS
0.1%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to 9.2.0839, the runtime/ftplugin/sh.vim, runtime/ftplugin/zsh.vim, and runtime/ftplugin/ps1.vim filetype plugins pass attacker-controlled Visual-mode selections from K through keywordprg commands without safely separating shell arguments. fnameescape() and PATH_ESC_CHARS do not neutralize shell metacharacters before ShKeywordPrg, ZshKeywordPrg, or GetHelp invokes bash, zsh, or PowerShell, allowing arbitrary operating-system commands to execute with the privileges of the user running Vim. This issue is fixed in version 9.2.0839.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.1% · higher than 4% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
VI
vim · vim
< 9.2.0839 · source: vendor, NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-73077
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-73077
Patch
https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/c5a82fe013e73c98004ad7cd4f906b1ad1ed610e
Patch
https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-r5v6-q6j8-8qw2
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