CVE-2024-41965: vim Use-After-Free — Fix

Description

Vim is an open source command line text editor. double-free in dialog_changed() in Vim < v9.1.0648. When abandoning a buffer, Vim may ask the user what to do with the modified buffer. If the user wants the changed buffer to be saved, Vim may create a new Untitled file, if the buffer did not have a name yet. However, when setting the buffer name to Unnamed, Vim will falsely free a pointer twice, leading to a double-free and possibly later to a heap-use-after-free, which can lead to a crash. The issue has been fixed as of Vim patch v9.1.0648.

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CVSS v3.1 Score

4.2

MEDIUM

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L

Weakness Type (CWE)

CWE-416 Use After Free

CWE-415 CWE-415

Affected Products

Vendor	Product	Versions
vim	vim	< 9.1.0648

References

Advisories & Patches

https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/b29f4abcd4b3382fa746edd1d0562b7b48c https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-46pw-v7qw-xc2f

Other References

https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20241115-0002/

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2024-41965? +

Vim is an open source command line text editor. double-free in dialog_changed() in Vim < v9.1.0648. When abandoning a buffer, Vim may ask the user what to do with the modified buffer. If the user wants the changed buffer to be saved, Vim may create a new Untitled file, if the buffer did not have a name yet. However, when setting the buffer name to Unnamed, Vim will falsely free a pointer twice, leading to a double-free and possibly later to a heap-use-after-free, which can lead to a crash. The issue has been fixed as of Vim patch v9.1.0648. It has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.2 (MEDIUM).

How severe is CVE-2024-41965? +

CVE-2024-41965 has a CVSS v3.1 score of 4.2 out of 10, rated MEDIUM. This is a medium-severity vulnerability that should be remediated as part of regular maintenance.

What products are affected by CVE-2024-41965? +

CVE-2024-41965 affects products from vim, specifically: vim. Check the affected products table above for specific version ranges.

How do I check if I'm vulnerable to CVE-2024-41965? +

You can use Secably's free Website Scanner to check your website for known vulnerabilities. For infrastructure scanning, use the Port Scanner to identify exposed services that may be affected. Check the vendor advisories linked above for specific patch and version information.

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