Raw vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:HSummary
CVE-2026-45130 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 Malicious File (T1204.002); ranked at the 16th 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-2 (Flaw Remediation) and AC-6 (Least Privilege) — see the control section below for these in your framework.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2026-28871
Vulnerability Data
Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.2.0450, a heap buffer overflow exists in read_compound() in src/spellfile.c when loading a crafted spell file (.spl) with UTF-8 encoding active. An attacker-controlled length field in the spell…
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file's compound section overflows a 32-bit signed integer multiplication, causing a small buffer to be allocated for a write loop that runs many iterations, overflowing the heap. Because the 'spelllang' option can be set from a modeline, a text file modeline can trigger spell file loading if a malicious .spl file has been planted on the runtimepath. This issue has been patched in version 9.2.0450.
- CWE(s)
Related Threats
MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise TechniquesAI
Why these techniques?
Heap buffer overflow in Vim spell file parsing enables RCE when a victim opens a text file containing a malicious modeline that loads an attacker-planted .spl file.
CVEs Like This One
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Control response
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly requires applying the vendor patch (9.2.0450) that eliminates the integer-overflow / heap-write flaw in read_compound().
Least-functionality setting that disables modeline processing or restricts 'spelllang' prevents automatic loading of attacker-supplied .spl files.
Running the editor under least-privilege accounts limits the impact of the resulting heap overflow to the user's own files and processes.
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.
Secure-development practices directly require bounds checking and safe memory handling that prevent heap overflows.
Vulnerability scanning and recording can discover heap-overflow flaws but does not prevent their introduction in code.
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.
Security testing in development and acceptance can detect heap overflows before release.
Secure development lifecycle mandates practices that reduce the likelihood of introducing heap overflows.
Application security requirements can specify bounds-checking and safe memory APIs that mitigate heap overflows.
Secure architecture and engineering principles include memory-safety and input-validation controls that address heap overflows.
Secure coding standards directly prescribe techniques (safe functions, bounds checks) that prevent heap-based buffer overflows.
Change management ensures controlled deployment of fixes for discovered heap-overflow vulnerabilities.