CVE-2026-46710 (GCVE-0-2026-46710)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-06-26 20:16 – Updated: 2026-06-26 20:16
VLAI
Title
Notepad++: Privilege Escalation in the Installer via Uncontrolled Executable Search Path
Summary
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.
Severity
7.5 (High)
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CWE
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Vendor Product Version
notepad-plus-plus notepad-plus-plus Affected: >= 8.9.4, < 8.9.6
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "notepad-plus-plus",
          "vendor": "notepad-plus-plus",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "\u003e= 8.9.4, \u003c 8.9.6"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "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."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV4_0": {
            "attackComplexity": "HIGH",
            "attackRequirements": "NONE",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "baseScore": 7.5,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "subAvailabilityImpact": "NONE",
            "subConfidentialityImpact": "NONE",
            "subIntegrityImpact": "NONE",
            "userInteraction": "NONE",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N",
            "version": "4.0",
            "vulnAvailabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnConfidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "vulnIntegrityImpact": "HIGH"
          }
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-426",
              "description": "CWE-426: Untrusted Search Path",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-06-26T20:16:16.022Z",
        "orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
        "shortName": "GitHub_M"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-6f8f-vmfc-r8c5",
          "tags": [
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        },
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/1d4aabe2102d982667ead2dd974bee5e0b1f2d9c",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/1d4aabe2102d982667ead2dd974bee5e0b1f2d9c"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "advisory": "GHSA-6f8f-vmfc-r8c5",
        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "Notepad++: Privilege Escalation in the Installer via Uncontrolled Executable Search Path"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
    "assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-46710",
    "datePublished": "2026-06-26T20:16:16.022Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-05-15T23:26:58.309Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-06-26T20:16:16.022Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
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      "date": "2026-06-14",
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    }
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}


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Sightings

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Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
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  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


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