Vim is an open source command line text editor that is highly popular among programmers and developers. It provides various powerful features while being lightweight and efficient. However, a recent vulnerability, identified as CVE-2023-48231, has been discovered in Vim that may result in the application crashing.

Description of the Vulnerability

The vulnerability is related to the handling of window structures when closing a window in Vim. In certain cases, Vim may try to access an already freed window structure. While exploitation beyond crashing the application has not been shown to be viable, this vulnerability may still lead to potential issues for users.

Exploit Details

The exact exploitation of this vulnerability is not yet fully understood, but it has been confirmed that crashes can occur when the application tries to access a freed window structure. As of now, there are no known instances where this vulnerability has been exploited for malicious purposes; however, users are encouraged to patch their systems to avoid any potential security risks.

Original References

You can find more information about this vulnerability and the fix for it on the official Vim GitHub repository. The commit that includes the fix can be found here, which is part of the release version 9..2106. In addition, the entry for this vulnerability on the CVE database is available here.

Code Snippet

An example of the changes in the code that fixes this vulnerability is provided below. In commit 25aabc2b, the following lines have been modified to address the issue:

/* src/window.c */

void win_free(win_T *wp, tabpage_T *tp)
{
...
-    if (prevwin != NULL)
+    if (tp != NULL && prevwin != NULL)
         prevwin->w_next = wp->w_next;
...

Recommendations

Users are advised to upgrade their Vim installations to version 9..2106 or newer as soon as possible. Updating to the latest version ensures that the vulnerability is patched and that you are protected from any potential risks associated with it. As of now, there are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Conclusion

CVE-2023-48231 is a vulnerability in the Vim text editor that may lead to application crashes when accessing freed window structures. While no known exploitation beyond crashing has been observed, it is essential to upgrade your Vim installation to the patched version (9..2106) to ensure that you are protected from any potential security risks.

Timeline

Published on: 11/16/2023 23:15:08 UTC
Last modified on: 12/28/2023 17:39:29 UTC