CVE-2022-2175 – CVE-2022-2175 is a buffer over-read vulnerabili... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2022-2175?

CVE-2022-2175 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). CVE-2022-2175 is a buffer over-read vulnerability in Vim text editor versions prior to 8.2. This allows attackers to read memory beyond allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive information. Anyone using vulnerable Vim versions is affected.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2022-2175 is a buffer over-read vulnerability in Vim text editor versions prior to 8.2. This allows attackers to read memory beyond allocated buffers, potentially exposing sensitive information. Anyone using vulnerable Vim versions is affected.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Vim text editor

Versions: All versions prior to 8.2

Operating Systems: Linux, Unix-like systems, Windows, macOS

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Affects all installations of Vim prior to version 8.2 regardless of configuration.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Information disclosure leading to exposure of sensitive data like passwords, keys, or other memory contents, potentially enabling further attacks.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash or exposure of limited memory contents, possibly revealing some system information.

🟢

If Mitigated

Minimal impact with proper memory protections and sandboxing in place.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Vim is typically not internet-facing software.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Could be exploited by malicious users or scripts on systems where Vim is installed.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires user interaction (opening a malicious file) or script execution. Proof of concept available in commit references.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 8.2 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/6046aded8da002b08d380db29de2ba0268b6616e

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update Vim using your package manager: 'sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade vim' (Debian/Ubuntu) or 'sudo yum update vim' (RHEL/CentOS). 2. For source installations: Download Vim 8.2+ from vim.org and compile. 3. Verify version with 'vim --version'.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Avoid opening untrusted files

all

Do not open files from untrusted sources with Vim.

Use alternative text editors

all

Temporarily use nano, emacs, or other text editors until Vim is patched.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Restrict Vim usage to trusted users only
Implement application allowlisting to control Vim execution

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Run 'vim --version' and check if version is less than 8.2.

Check Version:

vim --version | head -1

Verify Fix Applied:

Run 'vim --version' and confirm version is 8.2 or higher.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Segmentation fault or crash logs from Vim processes
Unexpected memory access errors in system logs

Network Indicators:

Not applicable - local vulnerability

SIEM Query:

process_name:vim AND (event_type:crash OR error_message:"segmentation fault")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2022-2175

CVSS v3 Score: 7.8 (HIGH)

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

CWE: CWE-126

Published: June 23, 2022

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/6046aded8da002b08d380db29de2ba0268b6616e Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://huntr.dev/bounties/7f0481c2-8b57-4324-b47c-795d1ea67e55 Exploit,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GFD2A4YLBR7OIRHTL7CK6YNMEIQ264CN/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/U743FMJGFQ35GBPCQ6OWMVZEJPDFVEWM/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-32 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-16 Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/6046aded8da002b08d380db29de2ba0268b6616e Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://huntr.dev/bounties/7f0481c2-8b57-4324-b47c-795d1ea67e55 Exploit,Patch,Third Party Advisory
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/GFD2A4YLBR7OIRHTL7CK6YNMEIQ264CN/
https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce%40lists.fedoraproject.org/message/U743FMJGFQ35GBPCQ6OWMVZEJPDFVEWM/
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202208-32 Third Party Advisory
https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-16 Third Party Advisory

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