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CVE-2008-4101

39
FAUCET Score

CVE-2008-4101 describes a critical vulnerability in Vim versions 3.0 through 7.x prior to 7.2.010, stemming from insufficient character escaping. This flaw allows user-assisted attackers to execute arbitrary shell commands or Ex commands through specific keystroke sequences, such as 'K' on a line with a semicolon followed by a command, or 'Ctrl-]' and 'g]' with an argument. With a CVSS score of 9.3 (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C), this vulnerability poses a significant risk, enabling complete compromise of confidentiality, integrity, and availability with moderate attack complexity. While not listed on the KEV catalog, an ExploitDB entry (EDB-32289) confirms the existence of exploit code, though there is no evidence of active exploitation, and community discussion and media coverage are minimal.

Impacted Technologies

VendorProductVersion(s)CPE
<= 7.2CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
3.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:3.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
4.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:4.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.0CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.0:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
5.1CPE matchmatch criteria
cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim:5.1:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

CVSS Data

CVSS version used by this source: 2.0

9.3HIGH

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Confidentiality Impact
COMPLETE
Integrity Impact
COMPLETE
Availability Impact
COMPLETE
Access Vector
NETWORK
Access Complexity
MEDIUM
Authentication
NONE
Exploitability Score
8.6
Impact Score
10.0
CvssVersion
2.0

Exploit Intelligence

EPSS Score
9.21%
Probability of exploitation in next 30 days
EPSS Percentile
94.8%
Percentile rank of EPSS score among Peer Group
As of 2026-07-24
Model: v2026.06.15
ExploitDB: EDB-32289 · Aug 19, 2008
This CVE's current EPSS score of 0.0921 is in the 75th percentile among its peer group of 8,913 CVEs.

Social Chatter

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.0 Twitter, 0.1 Reddit, 0.1 Bluesky, 0.0 Mastodon, and 0.2 GitHub mentions.

Media Mentions

No media coverage found for this CVE.

The average CVE in this peer group has 0.1 InfoSec Media, 0.0 Vendor Blog, and 0.0 Security Researcher mentions.

Remediation

Patch Available

Vendor Patches (4)

redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 2.1Fixed in: vim-1:6.0-7.25
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3Fixed in: vim-1:6.3.046-0.30E.11
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4Fixed in: vim-1:6.3.046-1.el4_7.5z
View patch
redhatpatch availablevia redhat_api
Product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5Fixed in: vim-2:7.0.109-4.el5_2.4z
View patch

Vendor Advisories (1)

redhatCVE-2008-4101Moderate

vim: arbitrary code execution in commands: K, Control-], g]

Aug 22, 2008

References

ftp.vim.org / pub/vim/patches/7.2/7.2.010
Exploit
groups.google.com / group/vim_dev/attach/9290f26f9bc11b33/K-arbitrary-command-execution.patch.v3
groups.google.com / group/vim_dev/attach/dd32ad3a84f36bb2/K-arbitrary-command-execution.patch
Patch
groups.google.com / group/vim_dev/browse_thread/thread/1434d0812b5c817e/6ad2d5b50a96668e
Exploit
groups.google.com / group/vim_dev/msg/9290f26f9bc11b33
Patch
lists.apple.com / archives/security-announce/2008/Oct/msg00001.html
lists.apple.com / archives/security-announce/2010//Mar/msg00001.html
bugzilla.redhat.com / show_bug.cgi
secunia.com / advisories/31592
secunia.com / advisories/32222
secunia.com / advisories/32858
secunia.com / advisories/32864
secunia.com / advisories/33410
exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com / vulnerabilities/44626
oval.cisecurity.org / repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A10894
oval.cisecurity.org / repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A5812
support.apple.com / kb/HT3216
support.apple.com / kb/HT4077
support.avaya.com / elmodocs2/security/ASA-2008-457.htm
support.avaya.com / elmodocs2/security/ASA-2009-001.htm
mandriva.com / security/advisories
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2008/09/11/3
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2008/09/11/4
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2008/09/16/5
openwall.com / lists/oss-security/2008/09/16/6
rdancer.org / vulnerablevim-K.html
redhat.com / support/errata/RHSA-2008-0580.html
redhat.com / support/errata/RHSA-2008-0617.html
redhat.com / support/errata/RHSA-2008-0618.html
securityfocus.com / archive/1/495662
securityfocus.com / archive/1/495703
securityfocus.com / archive/1/502322/100/0/threaded
securityfocus.com / bid/30795
securityfocus.com / bid/31681
ubuntu.com / usn/USN-712-1
vmware.com / security/advisories/VMSA-2009-0004.html
vupen.com / english/advisories/2008/2780
vupen.com / english/advisories/2009/0033
vupen.com / english/advisories/2009/0904