Cyber Resilience

CVE-2026-25749

Memory Safety in Neovim ≤ 0.11.6

Public PoCMemory Safety
Published
06 February 2026
Modified
09 June 2026
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 6.6
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
EPSS Score 0.0021 12th percentile
Risk Priority 41 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2026-25749 is a medium-severity Heap-based Buffer Overflow (CWE-122) vulnerability in Neovim Neovim. Its CVSS base score is 6.6 (Medium).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Exploitation for Client Execution (T1203); ranked at the 12th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

The strongest mitigations our analysis identified map to SI-10 (Information Input Validation) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation) — see the control section below for these in your framework.

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.2132, a heap buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Vim's tag file resolution logic when processing the 'helpfile' option. The vulnerability is located in the get_tagfname() function in src/tag.c.…

more

When processing help file tags, Vim copies the user-controlled 'helpfile' option value into a fixed-size heap buffer of MAXPATHL + 1 bytes (typically 4097 bytes) using an unsafe STRCPY() operation without any bounds checking. This issue has been patched in version 9.1.2132.

CWE(s)

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI

T1203 Exploitation for Client Execution Execution
Adversaries may exploit software vulnerabilities in client applications to execute code.
Why these techniques?

Heap buffer overflow in Vim enables client-side code execution via malicious helpfile/tag processing (T1203).

Confidence: MEDIUM · MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise v19.0

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2026-45130Same product: Neovim Neovim
CVE-2026-28420Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2024-45306Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2025-22134Same product: Neovim Neovim
CVE-2023-4781Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2023-1170Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2023-0288Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2026-57455Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2023-0051Same product: Vim Vim
CVE-2026-26269Same product: Vim Vim

Affected Assets

neovim
neovim
≤ 0.11.6
vim
vim
≤ 9.1.2132

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)
  • SI-2 Flaw Remediation
  • SI-10 Information Input Validation
Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)
  • SI-7 Software, Firmware, and Information Integrity
Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V1.4.1

Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI

prevent

Directly requires timely application of the vendor patch that eliminates the unsafe STRCPY in get_tagfname().

prevent

Mandates bounds-checking and validation of untrusted input (the 'helpfile' option value) before it is copied into a fixed-size buffer.

detect

Requires integrity verification mechanisms that can detect memory corruption or unauthorized code execution resulting from the heap overflow.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 full match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.

ID.RA-01 partial match
prevents

Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Timely patching removes known heap-overflow instances after they exist.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

detects

Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.

prevents

Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.

prevents

Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.

prevents

Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.

prevents

Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.

none

Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.

References