CVE-2026-46483 Vim: Command injection in tar#Vimuntar via missing shellescape {special} flag
Attackers can execute arbitrary shell commands by tricking users into opening a crafted .tgz archive in Vim due to improper shell escaping.
- 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
What is CVE-2026-46483?
CVE-2026-46483 is a low-severity command injection vulnerability in Vim Vim, published on 15 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 9.2.0479, a command injection vulnerability exists in tar#Vimuntar() in runtime/autoload/tar.vim when decompressing .tgz archives on Unix-like systems. The function builds :!gunzip and :!gzip -d commands using shellescape(tartail) without the {special} flag, allowing a crafted archive filename to trigger Vim cmdline-special expansion and execute shell commands in the user's context. This vulnerability is fixed in 9.2.0479.
Which versions are affected by CVE-2026-46483?
It affects 1 product.
Products include Vim Vim.
How do I fix CVE-2026-46483?
Upgrade to a fixed version.
Upgrade, and pass arguments to programs as a list instead of through a shell. More about Command injection.
Is CVE-2026-46483 being exploited?
There is no known exploitation of CVE-2026-46483 in the wild and no public exploit code.
Other vulnerabilities in Vim Vim
Sources
Also known as ALPINE-CVE-2026-46483, AZL-86895, BELL-CVE-2026-46483, CLSA-2026-1779582830, CLSA-2026-1779583115, CLSA-2026-1779583625 and 19 more.