CVE-2025-66476 | Vim for Windows Uncontrolled Search Path Element Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.1.1947, an uncontrolled search path vulnerability on Windows allows Vim to execute malicious executables placed in the current working directory for the current edited file. On Windows, when using cmd.exe as a shell, Vim resolves external commands by searching the current working directory before system paths. When Vim invokes tools such as findstr for :grep, external commands or filters via :!, or compiler/:make commands, it may inadvertently run a malicious executable present in the same directory as the file being edited. The issue affects Vim for Windows prior to version 9.1.1947.

Published: 2025-12-02 Last update: 2026-01-30 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2025-66476 is rated Low Risk (31.6/100): CVSS High severity, with low exploitation likelihood (EPSS 0.01%). 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-2025-66476

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 2025-12-03 — 0.01% —

Full EPSS history (1 record total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2025-66476

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/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: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:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2025-66476

OS Trackers for CVE-2025-66476

vendor priority summary link
alpine — CVE-2025-66476: 1 source package rows (vim); 281 state rows across 6 repos (3.19-main, 3.20-main, 3.21-main, 3.22-main, 3.23-main, edge-main); fixed 0, open 281. https://security.alpinelinux.org/vuln/CVE-2025-66476
debian unimportant CVE-2025-66476 unimportant 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-2025-66476
redhat — — https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2025-66476
ubuntu medium CVE-2025-66476 medium priority: Ubuntu including 1 source packages (vim), 9 status rows across 9 suites (bionic, focal, jammy, noble, plucky, questing, trusty, upstream, xenial): not-affected 9. https://ubuntu.com/security/CVE-2025-66476

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2025-66476

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
vim vim < 9.1.1947 cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2025-66476

cvelogic Threat Intelligence