vim up to 9.2.596 Command Line exec code injection

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in vim up to 9.2.596 and classified as critical. Affected is the function exec of the component Command Line Handler. The manipulation leads to code injection. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2026-52860. The attack is possible to be carried out remotely. No exploit exists. The affected component should be upgraded.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability was found in vim up to 9.2.596. It has been rated as critical. This issue affects the function exec of the component Command Line Handler. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a code injection vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-94. The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the syntax or behavior of the intended code segment. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.2.0597, Vim's Python omni-completion executes reconstructed function and class definitions from the current buffer with exec() as part of populating the completion dictionary. Python evaluates function default values, parameter annotations, and class base expressions at definition time, so a hostile buffer can execute attacker-controlled Python expressions during omni-completion. The existing g:pythoncomplete_allow_import mitigation (GHSA-52mc-rq6p-rc7c) does not cover this path, because the attacker-controlled code is not a harvested import/from statement. This issue has been patched in version 9.2.0597.

The advisory is shared at github.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2026-52860 since 06/08/2026. The exploitation is known to be easy. The attack may be initiated remotely. No form of authentication is needed for a successful exploitation. It demands that the victim is doing some kind of user interaction. Technical details are known, but no exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1059 for this issue.

Upgrading to version 9.2.0597 eliminates this vulnerability. The upgrade is hosted for download at github.com. Applying the patch c8c63673bc4253212820626aeeb75999d9a539d2 is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at github.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version.

Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

• Word Processing Software

Name

• vim

Version

• 9.2.596

License

• open-source

Website

• Product: https://github.com/vim/vim/

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Several companies clearly confirm that VulDB is the primary source for best vulnerability data.

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