# CVE-2026-45130: Vim: Heap Buffer Overflow in spell file loading

> An attacker can achieve code execution by tricking a user into opening a text file with a modeline that loads a malicious spell file.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.6 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 8 May 2026
- **Updated:** 14 May 2026
- **Also known as:** ALPINE-CVE-2026-45130, AZL-86246, BELL-CVE-2026-45130, CLSA-2026-1779495062, CLSA-2026-1779496075, DEBIAN-CVE-2026-45130, ECHO-dad7-435c-45c4, GHSA-q4jv-r9gj-6cwv, UBUNTU-CVE-2026-45130

## What is CVE-2026-45130?

CVE-2026-45130 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vim Vim, published on 8 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. Prior to version 9.2.0450, a heap buffer overflow exists in read_compound() in src/spellfile.c when loading a crafted spell file (.spl) with UTF-8 encoding active. An attacker-controlled length field in the spell file's compound section overflows a 32-bit signed integer multiplication, causing a small buffer to be allocated for a write loop that runs many iterations, overflowing the heap. Because the 'spelllang' option can be set from a modeline, a text file modeline can trigger spell file loading if a malicious .spl file has been planted on the runtimepath. This issue has been patched in version 9.2.0450.

Weakness: CWE-190 (Integer Overflow or Wraparound), CWE-122 (Heap-based Buffer Overflow)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-45130?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Neovim Neovim, Vim Vim.

## How do I fix CVE-2026-45130?

Upgrade to a fixed version.

## Is CVE-2026-45130 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45130 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Vim Vim

- [CVE-2019-12735](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-12735/): Command injection in n/a (high 8.6)
- [CVE-2022-3591](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-3591/): Use After Free in vim/vim (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-25749](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-25749/): Heap Overflow in Vim (medium 6.6)
- [CVE-2024-43374](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2024-43374/): Vim heap-use-after-free in src/arglist.c:207 (medium 4.5)
- [CVE-2025-22134](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-22134/): heap-buffer-overflow with visual mode in Vim < 9.1.1003 (medium 4.2)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2026-45130 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2026-45130 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Vim Vim, published on 8 May 2026. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-45130 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Vim Vim. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45130/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45130/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-45130
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-45130
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2026-45130

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-45130/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.