Skip to content

[Security] MacVim affected by CVE-2026-42307 — netrw sftp tmpfile not escaped (OS command injection) #1666

@dkgkdfg65

Description

@dkgkdfg65

[Security] MacVim affected by CVE-2026-42307 — netrw OS command injection (vim < 9.2.0383)

Summary

MacVim bundles the vim source at version 9.2 (patches 1-332 in the current build), which is
below the patched version 9.2.0383 that fixes CVE-2026-42307.

Vulnerability Details

  • Upstream CVE: CVE-2026-42307
  • Inherited from: vim/vim
  • Affected code: runtime/autoload/netrw.vim — netrw standard plugin
  • Vulnerability type: CWE-78 — OS Command Injection
  • Fixed in: vim 9.2.0383 (commit 405e2fb6d54d5653523809e2853d99d1c000a5fc)

Root Cause

Prior to vim 9.2.0383, an OS command injection vulnerability exists in the netrw standard
plugin bundled with vim. By inducing a user to open a crafted URL (e.g., using the sftp://
or file:// protocol handlers), an attacker can execute arbitrary shell commands. Netrw
constructs shell commands from user-controlled URL components without adequate sanitization.

An attacker who can trick a user into opening a specially crafted URL in vim (e.g., via a
malicious link in a file opened for editing) can achieve arbitrary command execution.

Affected MacVim Version

MacVim r183 (vim 9.2 patches 1-332) — current HEAD as of 2026-05-18.

The fix commit 405e2fb6d54d5653523809e2853d99d1c000a5fc from vim/vim is not present
in the macvim-dev/macvim repository:

git log --all --oneline | grep 405e2fb6  # returns no output

Suggested Fix

Merge or cherry-pick vim/vim patches up to at least 9.2.0383:

References

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    No labels
    No labels

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

    Milestone

    No milestone

    Relationships

    None yet

    Development

    No branches or pull requests

    Issue actions