Vulnerability · Published Sep 22, 2026 · Assigned by GitHub_M
CVE-2026-77605Notepad++ “Run by system” executes *.txt.cmd when user selected *.txt (target confusion → command execution)
High 7.8
In plain English
A high-severity improper input validation in notepad-plus-plus from notepad-plus-plus. Proof-of-concept exploit code is public. The chance it is exploited in the next 30 days is estimated at 0.2% (higher than 12% of all known vulnerabilities).
Official description
Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.8, the Folder as Workspace Run by system action in Notepad++ can resolve a different sibling file than the file selected by the user. When an attacker places a command script whose name is the selected text-file path with .cmd appended, and the user invokes Run by system on the text file on Windows 10 or Windows 11, Notepad++ can execute the sibling script as the current user instead of opening the selected file. This issue is fixed in version 8.9.8.
Affected products (as reported)
| Vendor | Product | Versions |
|---|---|---|
| notepad-plus-plus | notepad-plus-plus | < 8.9.8 |
Weakness: CWE-20, CWE-706 · Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
References
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw x_refsource_CONFIRM
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/00fa5df0da1d4f6b334317aa979db13ac77ee24d x_refsource_MISC
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/tag/v8.9.8 x_refsource_MISC
- https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v898-released x_refsource_MISC