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Vulnerability record · CVE-2008-4101 · published 18 September 2008

CVE-2008-4101: Vim improper input validation vulnerability

Vim · Vim

Vim 3.0 through 7.x before 7.2.010 does not properly escape characters, which allows user-assisted attackers to (1) execute arbitrary shell commands by entering a K keystroke on a line that contains a ";" (semicolon) followed by a command, or execute arbitrary Ex commands by entering an argument after a (2) "Ctrl-]" (control close-square-bracket) or (3) "g]" (g close-square-bracket) keystroke sequence, a different issue than CVE-2008-2712.

9.3 CVSS 2.0 High EPSS 9.2% · top 4.8% CWE-20 · Improper input validation
9.3CVSS 2.0 base score
9.2%EPSS exploitation probability, 30 days
NoNot in CISA KEV
1Affected product versions listed by NVD
78References, 4 tagged exploit
16 Jun 2026Last modified by NVD

Description

Vim 3.0 through 7.x before 7.2.010 does not properly escape characters, which allows user-assisted attackers to (1) execute arbitrary shell commands by entering a K keystroke on a line that contains a ";" (semicolon) followed by a command, or execute arbitrary Ex commands by entering an argument after a (2) "Ctrl-]" (control close-square-bracket) or (3) "g]" (g close-square-bracket) keystroke sequence, a different issue than CVE-2008-2712.

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

1 vulnerable configurations from NVD's CPE data, grouped by vendor and product.

References

LinkTags
http://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/patches/7.2/7.2.010 Exploit
http://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/attach/9290f26f9bc11b33/K-arbitrary-command-execution.patch.v3?part=2
http://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/attach/dd32ad3a84f36bb2/K-arbitrary-command-execution.patch?part=2 Patch
http://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/browse_thread/thread/1434d0812b5c817e/6ad2d5b50a96668e Exploit
http://groups.google.com/group/vim_dev/msg/9290f26f9bc11b33 Patch
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2008/Oct/msg00001.html
http://lists.apple.com/archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
http://secunia.com/advisories/31592
http://secunia.com/advisories/32222
http://secunia.com/advisories/32858
http://secunia.com/advisories/32864
http://secunia.com/advisories/33410
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3216
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4077
http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2008-457.htm
http://support.avaya.com/elmodocs2/security/ASA-2009-001.htm
http://www.mandriva.com/security/advisories?name=MDVSA-2008:236
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/11/3
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/11/4
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/16/5
http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2008/09/16/6
http://www.rdancer.org/vulnerablevim-K.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0580.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0617.html
http://www.redhat.com/support/errata/RHSA-2008-0618.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495662
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/495703
http://www.securityfocus.com/archive/1/502322/100/0/threaded
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/30795
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/31681
http://www.ubuntu.com/usn/USN-712-1
http://www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2009-0004.html
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2008/2780
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0033
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2009/0904
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=461927
https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/44626
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10894
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A5812
http://ftp.vim.org/pub/vim/patches/7.2/7.2.010 Exploit

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Related vulnerabilities

Same products first, then exploited flaws of the same weakness class.

9.8CVE-2020-20703Vim classic buffer overflow vulnerabilityBuffer Overflow vulnerability in VIM v.8.1.2135 allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via the operand parameter.EPSS 1.5%9.8CVE-2022-3520Vim heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilityHeap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub repository vim/vim prior to 9.0.0765.EPSS 1.0%9.8CVE-2022-0318Vim heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilityHeap-based Buffer Overflow in vim/vim prior to 8.2.EPSS 2.0%9.8CVE-2017-6349Vim integer overflow vulnerabilityAn integer overflow at a u_read_undo memory allocation site would occur for vim before patch 8.0.0377, if it does not properly validate values for tr…EPSS 2.7%9.8CVE-2017-6350Vim integer overflow vulnerabilityAn integer overflow at an unserialize_uep memory allocation site would occur for vim before patch 8.0.0378, if it does not properly validate values f…EPSS 3.2%9.8CVE-2017-5953Vim integer overflow vulnerabilityvim before patch 8.0.0322 does not properly validate values for tree length when handling a spell file, which may result in an integer overflow at a …EPSS 2.8%9.3CVE-2008-6235Vim os command injection vulnerabilityThe Netrw plugin (netrw.vim) in Vim 7.0 and 7.1 allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary commands via shell metacharacters in a filename u…EPSS 3.0%9.3CVE-2008-3074Tar.vim os command injection vulnerabilityThe shellescape function in Vim 7.0 through 7.2, including 7.2a.10, allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary code via the "!" (exclamation…EPSS 3.8%

Source: NIST National Vulnerability Database (record CVE-2008-4101), CISA KEV, FIRST EPSS (scores of 2026-09-27). This page is refreshed as NVD updates the record.