CVE-2022-37173
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedAn issue in the installer of gvim 9.0.0000 allows authenticated attackers to execute arbitrary code via a binary hijacking attack on C:\Program.exe.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceThe gvim 9.0.0000 installer is vulnerable to binary hijacking, where it attempts to execute a binary from a path (C:\Program.exe) that an authenticated attacker can control or replace. This allows privilege escalation by substituting a malicious executable that the installer will run with elevated privileges.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 9.0.0000CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed gvim versionRun 'gvim --version' or check the program files directory for gvim version informationAffected if Version reported is exactly 9.0.0000 (the only affected version)
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Locate the gvim installerSearch for gvim installer files (*.exe) in download directories or program files, typically named something like gvim*9.0*.exeAffected if Installer file exists and is version 9.0.0000
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Examine installer for vulnerable path referenceUse a strings or hex editor tool on the installer executable to search for 'C:\\Program.exe' string referencesAffected if The installer contains a reference to execute C:\Program.exe (the hijackable path)
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Check directory permissions on common writable locationsReview file system permissions on %TEMP%, %LOCALAPPDATA%, and installation directories to determine if low-privilege users can write files named Program.exeAffected if Authenticated users can write to a location where the installer searches for executables
You are affected if gvim version 9.0.0000 was installed using the vulnerable installer that references C:\Program.exe, and an attacker can place a malicious Program.exe in a location the installer searches.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataThe vendor (Vim project) must patch the installer to use absolute, verified paths for all binary executions and validate binary signatures before execution. Organizations should restrict write access to installer directories and monitor for unauthorized binary placement.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-37173 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-37173 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data