Copyright © 2012 Red Hat, Inc. All rights reserved. Important 2026-06-25T15:16:16 vim: Vim: Arbitrary code execution via malicious docstrings in Python omni-completion 7.8 CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H CWE-94

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to 9.2.0699, Vim's Python omni-completion (runtime/autoload/python3complete.vim and the legacy pythoncomplete.vim) executes reconstructed function and class definitions from the current buffer with exec() as part of populating the completion dictionary. When reconstructing that source, each scope's docstring is inserted verbatim between triple quotes with no escaping, so a hostile buffer can break out of the triple-quoted literal and execute attacker-controlled Python during omni-completion. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.2.0699.

There is a security flaw in Vim. If you use Vim to open a malicious file written by a hacker, and you use the auto-complete feature while typing, the file can secretly force your computer to run unauthorized commands or malware.

This flaw is rated as Important. A vulnerability in Vim's Python omni-completion feature allows for arbitrary code execution. By opening a specially crafted file, a local attacker could execute arbitrary Python code due to improper handling of docstrings during omni-completion, leading to a compromise of the system where Vim is running. To mitigate this vulnerability, users should avoid opening untrusted Python files or using Python omni-completion on such files. If Python omni-completion is not required, it can be disabled by adding `autocmd FileType python setlocal omnifunc=` to your `.vimrc` file. This will prevent the vulnerable code from being executed. Disabling Python omni-completion will remove the ability to use `Ctrl-X Ctrl-O` for Python code completion. A restart of Vim is required for the changes to take effect. Red Hat Hardened Images 2026-07-03T00:00:00Z RHSA-2026:35387 vim-main-9.2.780-1.hum1 Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10 Affected vim Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 Affected vim Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 Affected vim Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 Affected vim Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9 Affected vim Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 Affected rhcos https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-57456 https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-57456 https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/cce141c42740f122dd8486ae04e21c2a81016ba8 https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/tag/v9.2.0699 https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-ppj8-wqjf-6fp3