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Unrated severityNVD Advisory· Published Dec 2, 2022· Updated Apr 23, 2025

Heap-based Buffer Overflow in vim/vim

CVE-2022-3520

Description

A heap buffer overflow in Vim's do_put function for Visual block paste can crash or execute arbitrary code.

AI Insight

LLM-synthesized narrative grounded in this CVE's description and references.

A heap buffer overflow in Vim's do_put function for Visual block paste can crash or execute arbitrary code.

Vulnerability

A heap-based buffer overflow exists in the do_put() function of Vim prior to version 9.0.0765 [1]. The flaw is triggered during a paste operation (put) following a Visual block selection, where the column calculation at curbuf->b_op_end.col = bd.textcol + totlen - 1 can result in a negative value [1], leading to an out-of-bounds write when used as an array index.

Exploitation

An attacker who can supply a crafted file or command sequence that invokes a Visual block paste (e.g., using v to select a block then P or p to paste) may trigger the overflow [1]. The test case in the commit shows a specific sequence: using behave mswin, yanking a line, then performing v)P and silent norm ggv)CTRL-V P [1]. No special privileges beyond the ability to edit a file with Vim are required.

Impact

Successful exploitation can cause a heap buffer overflow, potentially resulting in a crash (denial of service) or arbitrary code execution [1][2]. Vim is widely used as an editor across many environments, so a successful attack could lead to local privilege escalation or further compromise of the host system.

Mitigation

The vulnerability is fixed in Vim 9.0.0765 and later [1]. Gentoo recommends upgrading to version 9.0.1157 or higher for all Vim, gVim, and vim-core packages [2]. Users should update their Vim installation to the latest version. If an immediate update is not possible, avoid untrusted file content that might trigger the specific Visual block paste path.

References
  1. patch 9.0.0765: with a Visual block a put command column may go negative · vim/vim@36343ae
  2. Multiple Vulnerabilities (GLSA 202305-16) — Gentoo security

AI Insight generated on May 25, 2026. Synthesized from this CVE's description and the cited reference URLs; citations are validated against the source bundle.

Affected products

38

Patches

0

No patches discovered yet.

Vulnerability mechanics

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References

3

News mentions

0

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