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CVE-2026-46710

Notepad++: Privilege Escalation in the Installer via Uncontrolled Executable Search Path

Published: Jun 26, 2026Updated: Jun 29, 2026 Sources: CVE List NVDCWE-426
7.8HIGH
NVD MITRE
EPSS Score
0.1%
Top 98.6%
CISA KEV
Not in KEV
Exploits
No Known Exploits
Remediation
Patch Available
Self-Check
OpenVAS

Description

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. From 8.9.4 until 8.9.6, Notepad++ contains a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the installer. During installation, the installer invokes powershell.exe without using an absolute path after setting the working directory to the installation contextMenu directory. If an attacker can pre-place a malicious powershell.exe in a user-writable custom installation directory, and a privileged user later runs the installer and selects that directory, the attacker-controlled executable is launched with the elevated privileges of the installer. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.

No summary for this CVE yet.

CVSS Vector Breakdown

AV:LAC:LPR:NUI:RS:UC:HI:HA:H
Exploitability
AV:LAttack Vector
Local
AC:LAttack Complexity
Low
PR:NPrivileges Required
None
UI:RUser Interaction
Required
Scope
S:UScope
Unchanged
Impact
C:HConfidentiality
High
I:HIntegrity
High
A:HAvailability
High
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Weaknesses

CWE-426

Affected Products

notepad-plus-plus
commercialaka notepad++, notepad+ plus, notepad plus plus
notepad\+\+On-prem
Consumer Software / productivity
notepad-plus-plusOn-prem
Consumer Software / productivity

Exploitability

Official Patch Available
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Attack Graph

Products CVE Techniques Tactics

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MITRE ATT&CK

1 technique
Persistence
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References

https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/1d4aabe2102d982667ead2dd974bee5e0b1f2d9c
github.com
https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-6f8f-vmfc-r8c5
github.com

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