CVE-2019-20807· NVD / CVE Program· CNA mitre

In Vim before 8.1.0881, users can circumvent the rvim restricted mode and execute arbitrary OS commands via scripting interfaces (e.g., Pyth

In Vim before 8.1.0881, users can circumvent the rvim restricted mode and execute arbitrary OS commands via scripting interfaces (e.g., Python, Ruby, or Lua).

MediumCVSS 5.3 · v3.1—No exploit Fix available

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Published: May 28, 2020
Updated: Jun 16, 2026
EPSS: 0.5% · 40th percentile
CWE: CWE-78

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Action score

Monitor

Low priority for now.

CVSS: 21 / 40 · 5.3 / 10
CISA KEV: 0 / 30 · Not listed
EPSS: 0 / 30 · 0.5%

Affected systems

Vendor	Product	CPE
vim	vim	cpe:2.3:a:vim:vim
debian	debian linux	cpe:2.3:o:debian:debian_linux
opensuse	leap	cpe:2.3:o:opensuse:leap
canonical	ubuntu linux	cpe:2.3:o:canonical:ubuntu_linux
apple	mac os x	cpe:2.3:o:apple:mac_os_x
starwindsoftware	command center	cpe:2.3:a:starwindsoftware:command_center
starwindsoftware	san \& nas	cpe:2.3:a:starwindsoftware:san_\&_nas

Affected versions

NVD version ranges (for catalog products). Add the product to your stack with a version and matching uses these.

apple mac os x10.13.6
apple mac os x10.14.6
canonical ubuntu linux16.04
canonical ubuntu linux18.04
debian debian linux9.0
opensuse leap15.1
starwindsoftware command center2
starwindsoftware san & nas1.0
vim vimbefore 8.1.0881

Package-level exposure

OSV and GitHub Advisory data: ecosystem, package and range. SBOM matching uses this table.

Ecosystem	Package	Affected range	Fix
Debian:12	vim	before 2:8.1.2136-1	2:8.1.2136-1
Debian:9	vim	before 2:8.0.0197-4+deb9u4	2:8.0.0197-4+deb9u4
openSUSE:Leap 15.1	vim	before 8.0.1568-lp151.5.6.1	8.0.1568-lp151.5.6.1
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-common	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-common-debuginfo	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-debuginfo	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-debugsource	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-enhanced	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-enhanced-debuginfo	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-filesystem	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-minimal-debuginfo	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-X11	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	vim-X11-debuginfo	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	vim	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	vim-minimal	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
Rocky Linux:8	vim	before 2:8.0.1763-15.el8	2:8.0.1763-15.el8
SUSE:HPE Helion OpenStack 8	vim	before 7.4.326-17.6.1	7.4.326-17.6.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Module for Basesystem 15 SP1	vim	before 8.0.1568-5.6.1	8.0.1568-5.6.1
SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3	vim	before 7.2-8.21.6.2	7.2-8.21.6.2

Same product

vim: all records

Other highest-scoring records for the same primary product.

CVE-2008-2712Vim 7.1.314, 6.4, and other versions allows user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via Vim scripts that do not properl
42Plan
CVE-2022-0318Heap-based Buffer Overflow in vim/vim
40Plan
CVE-2019-12735getchar.c in Vim before 8.1.1365 and Neovim before 0.3.6 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary OS commands via the :source! command i
40Plan
CVE-2017-6350An integer overflow at an unserialize_uep memory allocation site would occur for vim before patch 8.0.0378, if it does not properly validate
40Plan
CVE-2017-6349An integer overflow at a u_read_undo memory allocation site would occur for vim before patch 8.0.0377, if it does not properly validate valu
40Plan
CVE-2017-5953vim before patch 8.0.0322 does not properly validate values for tree length when handling a spell file, which may result in an integer overf
40Plan

Remediation

Which version to upgrade to

Fix versions compiled from the vendor, package registries and Microsoft. Verify the vendor's note before upgrading.

Product / package	Fixed version	Source
debian:vim	2:8.1.2136-1 · Debian:12	Package registry (OSV)
opensuse:vim	8.0.1568-lp151.5.6.1 · openSUSE:Leap 15.1	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-common	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-common-debuginfo	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-debuginfo	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-debugsource	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-enhanced	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-enhanced-debuginfo	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-filesystem	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-minimal	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::baseos	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-minimal-debuginfo	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-X11	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
red hat:vim-X11-debuginfo	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Red Hat:enterprise_linux:8::appstream	Package registry (OSV)
rocky linux:vim	2:8.0.1763-15.el8 · Rocky Linux:8	Package registry (OSV)
suse:vim	7.2-8.21.6.2 · SUSE:Linux Enterprise Point of Sale 11 SP3	Package registry (OSV)

Exploit status

No known public exploit

No public exploit has been observed yet. That doesn't mean you're safe, only that the bar is a little higher.

Research context

For pentesters and researchers: attack profile, score disagreement, timeline, patch commits, credits, variant and chain candidates, bug bounty scope. All derived from existing data; no exploit code.

Timeline

From publication to today: proof of concept, Metasploit module, CISA KEV and fix record. Dates are as reported by the sources.

No dated events beyond publication.

EPSS, last 120 days

FIRST EPSS daily score; only changes of 0.01 or more are recorded (step chart).

Patch and commit links

Commit, PR and diff links among the references. A starting point for patch-diffing and variant hunting; fixes, not exploits.

vim/vimcommit 8c62a08

Credits

All researchers

Finders, reporters and analysts named in the CNA record. Click a name for that researcher’s other records.

No credits in the CNA record.

Variant candidates

Same product, same weakness class, within 18 months. If the patch missed the root cause, the sibling bug is here.

No nightly-computed relations.

Chain candidates

An authentication bypass and a privilege-requiring bug in the same product, published close together: combined they may become an unauthenticated path.

—

Bug bounty scope

No known public program.

Source: bounty-targets-data (public HackerOne, Bugcrowd, Intigriti, YesWeHack listings).

Technical details

Attack conditions

Someone with local access to the system can trigger it.
A low-privileged account is enough.
No user action is required.
No special conditions are required; it is repeatable.

If successful

Confidentiality: low · data can be read
Integrity: low · data or configuration can be modified
Availability: low · the service can be disrupted

Attack vector: Local
Attack complexity: Low
Privileges required: Low
User interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality impact: Low
Integrity impact: Low
Availability impact: Low

Weakness class (CWE)

CWE-78 · Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

CVSS vector

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

nvd-primary

Root cause

User input is inserted as text into a shell command. The shell may interpret special characters in the input as part of the command.

The bug in code

The whole CWE-78 class

A representative example of this vulnerability class. Not the vendor's source code; it shows the faulty pattern and its fix.

Vulnerable

1const host = req.body.host;2exec("ping -c 1 " + host, onResult);

Fixed

1const host = req.body.host;2if (!/^[a-z0-9.-]{1,253}$/i.test(host)) return res.sendStatus(400);3execFile("ping", ["-c", "1", host], onResult);

Attack context

MITRE CAPEC attack patterns and ATT&CK techniques for this weakness class (CWE). A starting point for detection rules and threat hunting.

Attack patterns (CAPEC)

ATT&CK techniques

—

Change log

Fix✗ → ✓Sep 28, 2026, 10:47 PM UTC

For records you follow, these changes also arrive as notifications. →

References

Vendor advisories and official records. Exploit/PoC links are deliberately left out.

All records

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Data sources and verification

CNA: mitre

CVE.org (CNA)Aug 5, 2024, 2:53 AM UTC
NVDJun 16, 2026, 10:31 PM UTC
FIRST EPSSSep 29, 2026, 12:00 AM UTC
OSV / GHSASep 30, 2026, 3:23 AM UTC

Each line is when that source was last processed for this record.

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