CVE-2023-1127 – CVE-2023-1127 is a divide-by-zero vulnerability... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-1127?

CVE-2023-1127 has a CVSS score of 7.8 (HIGH). CVE-2023-1127 is a divide-by-zero vulnerability in Vim text editor that can cause a crash or potentially allow arbitrary code execution when processing specially crafted files. This affects users running Vim versions prior to 9.0.1367 on any operating system where Vim is installed.

📋 TL;DR

CVE-2023-1127 is a divide-by-zero vulnerability in Vim text editor that can cause a crash or potentially allow arbitrary code execution when processing specially crafted files. This affects users running Vim versions prior to 9.0.1367 on any operating system where Vim is installed.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Vim

Versions: All versions prior to 9.0.1367

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

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: All Vim installations are vulnerable regardless of configuration. The vulnerability is triggered by processing specific file content.

📦 What is this software?

Fedora by Fedoraproject

View all CVEs affecting Fedora →

Vim by Vim

View all CVEs affecting Vim →

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

Remote code execution leading to complete system compromise if combined with other vulnerabilities or memory corruption techniques.

🟠

Likely Case

Application crash (denial of service) when opening malicious files, potentially causing data loss in unsaved buffers.

🟢

If Mitigated

Limited to application crash with minimal system impact if proper sandboxing and privilege separation are implemented.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - Vim is typically not exposed directly to internet-facing services.

🏢 Internal Only: MEDIUM - Internal users could be targeted via malicious files in shared directories or email attachments.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ⚠️ Yes

Weaponized: LIKELY

Unauthenticated Exploit: ⚠️ Yes

Complexity: LOW

Proof of concept available through huntr.dev bounty program. Exploitation requires user interaction to open malicious files.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 9.0.1367 and later

Vendor Advisory: https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/e0f869196930ef5f25a0ac41c9215b09c9ce2d3c

Restart Required: No

Instructions:

1. Update Vim using your system package manager (apt update && apt upgrade vim, yum update vim, brew upgrade vim). 2. Or compile from source: git clone https://github.com/vim/vim.git, checkout v9.0.1367+, compile and install.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Restrict file processing

all

Avoid opening untrusted files with Vim, especially from unknown sources.

Use alternative editors for untrusted files

linux

Configure system to use less vulnerable text editors for processing unknown files.

export EDITOR=nano
export VISUAL=code

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement application whitelisting to restrict Vim execution to trusted paths only.
Deploy endpoint protection that monitors for abnormal Vim process behavior and file access patterns.

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Run 'vim --version' and check if version is below 9.0.1367.

Check Version:

vim --version | head -1

Verify Fix Applied:

Run 'vim --version' and confirm version is 9.0.1367 or higher.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Vim process crashes with segmentation fault or arithmetic exception
Abnormal termination of Vim processes in system logs

Network Indicators:

Unusual file downloads followed by Vim execution

SIEM Query:

process_name:vim AND (event_id:1000 OR signal:SIGFPE OR exit_code:3221225477)

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-1127

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-369

Published: March 1, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

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🔗 Related Vulnerabilities

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