CVE-2022-1771

What it actually does

Uncontrolled recursion in Vim's input processing leads to stack exhaustion and process crash when handling specially crafted files or buffers.

Why it matters to the business

Developers and system administrators lose access to the editor during routine file operations, interrupting workflows and risking loss of unsaved changes; widespread use of Vim across servers and workstations amplifies operational disruption.

How an attack unfolds

An attacker prepares a file containing deeply nested structures that trigger excessive recursion in Vim's parser; when a victim opens the file with Vim, the application crashes without further attacker interaction.

How to fix it

Upgrade vim/vim to commit 51f0bfb88a3554ca2dde777d78a59880d1ee37a8 or later release 8.2.4975 or newer; rebuild packages from source or apply vendor patches for all affected distributions.

How to confirm the fix worked

Confirm the installed Vim binary reports version 8.2.4975 or higher; test with known recursion-triggering test cases to verify the crash no longer occurs.

Typical attack path

1. Craft a malicious text file containing deeply nested constructs
2. Deliver the file to the target via email, download, or shared storage
3. Victim opens the file using an affected Vim binary
4. Vim enters uncontrolled recursion and terminates

How to detect it

Monitor system and application crash logs for unexpected Vim terminations; correlate file-open events with subsequent process crashes on developer or server hosts.

What your security team should do

• Prioritize patching Vim on developer workstations and build servers within the next maintenance window
• Add Vim version checks to automated configuration compliance scans
• Educate users to avoid opening untrusted files with Vim until patched