CVE-2023-48706 | Vim has heap-use-after-free at /src/charset.c:1770:12 in skipwhite

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Vim is a UNIX editor that, prior to version 9.0.2121, has a heap-use-after-free vulnerability. When executing a `:s` command for the very first time and using a sub-replace-special atom inside the substitution part, it is possible that the recursive `:s` call causes free-ing of memory which may later then be accessed by the initial `:s` command. The user must intentionally execute the payload and the whole process is a bit tricky to do since it seems to work only reliably for the very first :s command. It may also cause a crash of Vim. Version 9.0.2121 contains a fix for this issue.

Published: 2023-11-22 Last update: 2026-06-23 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Modified，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2023-48706 is rated Exploit Available (50/100): CVSS Low severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.44%). 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2023-48706

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2023-48706

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 0.13% 0.44% +0.31%
2 2026-01-27 0.16% 0.13% -0.03%
3 2026-01-17 — 0.16% —

Full EPSS history (6 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2023-48706

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
3.6 3.1 LOW
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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: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.
 1.0 2.5 [email protected]
4.7 3.1 MEDIUM
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H 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:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
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:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.0 3.6 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2023-48706

OS Trackers for CVE-2023-48706

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2023-48706: 1 source package rows (vim); 192 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 5, open 187. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2023-48706
debian unimportant CVE-2023-48706 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-2023-48706
redhat low — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-48706
suse medium — https://www.suse.com/security/cve/CVE-2023-48706/
ubuntu medium CVE-2023-48706 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (vim), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, lunar, mantic, noble, trusty, upstream, xenial): released 5, not-affected 4. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2023-48706

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2023-48706

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vim vim < 9.0.2121 cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2023-48706

cvelogic Threat Intelligence