CVE-2026-35177
Description
A flaw was found in Vim's zip.vim plugin. A local user could be tricked into opening a specially crafted zip archive, which would allow a path traversal bypass. This vulnerability enables an attacker to overwrite arbitrary files on the system, potentially leading to data integrity issues or further system compromise.
Statement
There's a flaw in zip.vim plugin in Vim, allowing a local attacker to overwrite arbitrary files. A user must be tricked into opening a specially crafted zip archive for exploitation, potentially compromising data integrity or the system. When successfully exploited this vulnerability enables the attacker to overwrite arbitrary files or inject code in sensitive system's location, the impact of the exploitation depends on the privileges which the vim process is being executed. Sensitive or privileges files are only susceptible to be overwritten only if the vim process is being executed by a high privileged user.
Red Hat Product Security team has rated this vulnerability as having a impact of MODERATE, this decision was made by the fact the user needs to be tricked to open a maliciously crafted file in order to a successful attack to be performed. Additionally the impact will be limited to files which the user running the vim process has write permissions.
Mitigation
Avoid opening untrusted zip archives with Vim. This operational control prevents the necessary user interaction required to trigger the path traversal vulnerability in the `zip.vim` plugin.
Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) Score Details
Info alert:Important note
CVSS scores for open source components depend on vendor-specific factors (e.g. version or build chain). Therefore, Red Hat's score and impact rating can be different from NVD and other vendors. Red Hat remains the authoritative CVE Naming Authority (CNA) source for its products and services (see Red Hat classifications).
CVSS v3 Score Breakdown
| Red Hat | NVD | cve.org | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Score | 4.1 | 7.1 | 4.1 |
| Attack Vector | Local | Local | Local |
| Attack Complexity | High | Low | High |
| Privileges Required | None | None | None |
| User Interaction | Required | Required | Required |
| Scope | Changed | Unchanged | Changed |
| Confidentiality | None | None | None |
| Integrity Impact | Low | High | Low |
| Availability Impact | Low | High | Low |
Vector
Red Hat: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L
NVD: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
cve.org: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:N/I:L/A:L
Understanding the Weakness (CWE)
Integrity,Confidentiality,Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
The attacker may be able to create or overwrite critical files that are used to execute code, such as programs or libraries.
Integrity
Technical Impact: Modify Files or Directories
The attacker may be able to overwrite or create critical files, such as programs, libraries, or important data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, appending a new account at the end of a password file may allow an attacker to bypass authentication.
Confidentiality
Technical Impact: Read Files or Directories
The attacker may be able read the contents of unexpected files and expose sensitive data. If the targeted file is used for a security mechanism, then the attacker may be able to bypass that mechanism. For example, by reading a password file, the attacker could conduct brute force password guessing attacks in order to break into an account on the system.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
The attacker may be able to overwrite, delete, or corrupt unexpected critical files such as programs, libraries, or important data. This may prevent the product from working at all and in the case of protection mechanisms such as authentication, it has the potential to lock out product users.
Frequently Asked Questions
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