CVE-2019-20807

In Vim before 8.1.0881, users can circumvent the rvim restricted mode and execute arbitrary OS commands via scripting interfaces (e.g., Python, Ruby, or Lua).

Published: 2020-05-28 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2019-20807 is rated Low Risk (34.8/100): CVSS Medium severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.49%). Monitor for updates and reassess as exploit intelligence or EPSS changes.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2019-20807

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-15 0.21% 0.49% +0.28%
2 2026-01-05 0.08% 0.21% +0.13%
3 2025-11-21 — 0.08% —

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2019-20807

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
5.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:L)
A normal user session is enough; they don’t have to be admin.
User interaction (UI:N)
Nobody has to click “OK” or open a trap file; it can work without a victim helping.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:L)
Some sensitive info could get out, but not a total data dump.
Integrity (I:L)
Attackers could change some data, but it’s limited—not everything goes.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
 1.8 3.4 [email protected]
4.6 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
Access complexity (AC:L)
Exploitation conditions are straightforward and predictable.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:P)
Partial confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:P)
Partial integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:P)
Partial availability impact.
 3.9 6.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2019-20807

OS Trackers for CVE-2019-20807

vendor priority summary link
alpine medium CVE-2019-20807: 1 source package rows (vim); 15 state rows across 5 repos (3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 0, open 15. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2019-20807
debian not yet assigned CVE-2019-20807 not yet assigned priority: Debian including 1 source packages (vim), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 5. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2019-20807
redhat medium — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-20807
suse medium CVE-2019-20807 severity moderate: SUSE including 314 source package names (0.38.1:vim-8.0.1568-5.6.1, 0.38.1:vim-data-common-8.0.1568-5.6.1, …), 649 product×package rows across 211 product lines (Container bci/dotnet-aspnet, Container bci/dotnet-runtime, … (211 product lines)): Fixed 492, Known Affected 157. https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2019-20807/
ubuntu low CVE-2019-20807 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (vim), 10 status rows across 10 suites (bionic, eoan, focal, groovy, hirsute, impish, jammy, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 5, released 4, ignored 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2019-20807

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2019-20807

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vim vim < 8.1.0881 cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
debian debian_linux 9.0 cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux:9.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
opensuse leap 15.1 cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap:15.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 16.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:16.04:*:*:*:esm:*:*:*
canonical ubuntu_linux 18.04 cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux:18.04:*:*:*:lts:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x 10.13.6 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:10.13.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
apple mac_os_x 10.14.6 cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x:10.14.6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
starwindsoftware command_center 2 cpe:2.3:a:starwindsoftware:command_center:2:build_6003:*:*:*:*:*:*
starwindsoftware san_\&_nas 1.0 cpe:2.3:a:starwindsoftware:san_\&_nas:1.0:update_1:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2019-20807

cvelogic Threat Intelligence