CVE-2023-48233 | overflow with count for :s command in vim

Vim is an open source command line text editor. If the count after the :s command is larger than what fits into a (signed) long variable, abort with e_value_too_large. Impact is low, user interaction is required and a crash may not even happen in all situations. This issue has been addressed in commit `ac6378773` which has been included in release version 9.0.2108. Users are advised to upgrade. There are no known workarounds for this vulnerability.

Published: 2023-11-16 Last update: 2026-06-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2023-48233 is rated Low Risk (29.3/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.75%). Mandatory action: 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-2023-48233

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 0.08% 0.75% +0.67%
2 2025-11-21 0.31% 0.08% -0.23%
3 2025-11-18 0.31%

Full EPSS history (12 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-48233

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
2.8 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
1.3 1.4 [email protected]
4.3 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
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:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:N)
Doesn’t really leak secrets in a meaningful way.
Integrity (I:N)
Data isn’t meaningfully altered or forged.
Availability (A:L)
Might cause slowdowns, glitches, or partial disruption—not a full brick.
2.8 1.4 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-48233

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-48233

vendor priority summary link
alpine CVE-2023-48233: 1 source package rows (vim); 182 state rows across 7 repos (3.17-main, 3.18-main, 3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, edge-main); fixed 0, open 182. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-48233
debian unimportant CVE-2023-48233 unimportant priority: Debian including 1 source packages (vim), 5 status rows across 5 suites (bookworm, bullseye, forky, sid, trixie): resolved 3, open 2. https://security-tracker.debian.org/tracker/CVE-2023-48233
redhat low https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-48233
suse low https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-48233/
ubuntu low CVE-2023-48233 low priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (vim), 8 status rows across 8 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 7, needs-triage 1. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-48233

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-48233

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vim vim < 9.0.2108 cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 37 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:37:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 38 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:38:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
fedoraproject fedora 39 cpe:2.3:o:fedoraproject:fedora:39:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-48233

cvelogic Threat Intelligence