High [CVE-2026-43961] Vimscript injection via unescaped filename in netrw s:NetrwMarkFile filter expression allows arbitrary code execution
This high-severity Red Hat Linux advisory covers CVE-2026-43961.
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Summary
A flaw was found in Vim's netrw plugin. A crafted filename containing quote characters and expression fragments can break out of the quoted context during mark/unmark operations, allowing arbitrary Vimscript execution.
This can be leveraged to run shell commands with the privileges of the user running Vim. Important: This Vimscript injection flaw in netrw allows arbitrary code execution with user privileges.
Exploitation requires a local attacker to place a specially crafted filename in a directory and a victim to browse that directory with netrw and interact with the malicious entry. This directly impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the user's data and environment.
Red Hat severity: Important — CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H). Weakness: CWE-94.
Under investigation: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8; Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9; Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4.
Affected versions
No affected-version range was extracted from the source record. The vendor advisory is authoritative — check it before change work.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Fixed versions
No fixed release is recorded yet. That does not prove no patch exists — confirm against the vendor advisory.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
Mitigation checklist
- To mitigate this issue, users should avoid browsing untrusted directories or interacting with files from untrusted sources using Vim's netrw plugin. Exercise caution when opening directories that may contain maliciously crafted filenames.
Official advisory · high-confidence parse· fetched 1 hour ago·verify at source
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