[Security] MacVim affected by GHSA-85ch-p2qr-m5gx — netrw OS command injection via sftp:/file: URL tempfile suffix (vim < 9.2.0383)

Start with runtime/pack/dist/opt/netrw/autoload/netrw.vim at line 1822 and compare it with Vim fix 405e2fb6 from version 9.2.0383. Verify the affected sftp:// and file: URL path using the grep command shown in the issue; done means tmpfile is escaped and the upstream fix is present.

Summary

MacVim bundles the netrw plugin (runtime/pack/dist/opt/netrw/autoload/netrw.vim) which passes an unescaped tmpfile variable to a shell command when fetching remote files via sftp:// or file: URLs. A crafted URL with a shell metacharacter in the filename suffix causes arbitrary command execution. The fix from vim 9.2.0383 (405e2fb6) has not been applied to macvim r183.

Vulnerability Details

• GHSA: GHSA-85ch-p2qr-m5gx
• CVE: CVE-2026-42307
• Upstream fix (vim): 9.2.0383 (commit 405e2fb6c2e35e09cb64e0f92c1efdafd6b3978a, 2026-04-21)
• Affected code: runtime/pack/dist/opt/netrw/autoload/netrw.vim line 1822
• Vulnerability type: CWE-78 — OS Command Injection

Root Cause

In the sftp reading path, tmpfile (derived from the remote URL's filename suffix) is passed to the sftp command unescaped:

" runtime/pack/dist/opt/netrw/autoload/netrw.vim line 1822 (macvim r183)
call netrw#os#Execute(s:netrw_silentxfer."!".g:netrw_sftp_cmd." ".netrw#os#Escape(g:netrw_machine.":".b:netrw_fname,1)." ".tmpfile)

tmpfile is constructed from the remote filename suffix (e.g., the extension part of sftp://host/foo.txt;id). When tmpfile contains shell metacharacters like ;, &&, or |, they are executed by the shell.

Attack Scenario

1. Attacker tricks victim into opening sftp://attacker.com/payload;touch /tmp/pwned
2. MacVim's netrw constructs tmpfile containing ;touch /tmp/pwned
3. The sftp command executes with the unescaped tmpfile suffix, running the injected command

Verification

$ grep -n 'netrw_sftp_cmd.*tmpfile' runtime/pack/dist/opt/netrw/autoload/netrw.vim
1822:      call netrw#os#Execute(s:netrw_silentxfer."!".g:netrw_sftp_cmd." ".netrw#os#Escape(...)..." ".tmpfile)

The fix netrw#os#Escape(tmpfile,1) is absent. Patch 9.2.0383 not present:

$ git log --all --oneline | grep -i '9.2.0383\|sftp\|85ch'
(no output)

Suggested Fix

Merge vim patches up to at least 9.2.0383. The fix escapes tmpfile:

" Fixed (vim 9.2.0383):
call netrw#os#Execute(s:netrw_silentxfer."!".g:netrw_sftp_cmd." ".netrw#os#Escape(g:netrw_machine.":".b:netrw_fname,1)." ".netrw#os#Escape(tmpfile,1))

References

• GHSA: https://github.com/vim/vim/security/advisories/GHSA-85ch-p2qr-m5gx
• Upstream fix: https://github.com/vim/vim/commit/405e2fb6c2e35e09cb64e0f92c1efdafd6b3978a