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High severity · published Feb 18, 2026
CVE-2026-25926
Notepad++ has an Untrusted Search Path
7.3
CVSS
0.3%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. An Unsafe Search Path vulnerability (CWE-426) exists in versions prior to 8.9.2 when launching Windows Explorer without an absolute executable path. This may allow execution of a malicious explorer.exe if an attacker can control the process working directory. Under certain conditions, this could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the running application. Version 8.9.2 patches the issue.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.3% · higher than 20% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
NO
notepad-plus-plus · notepad-plus-plus
< 8.9.2 · source: vendor
NO
Notepad++ · Notepad-plus-plus
before 8.9.2 · source: NVD
Affected product
NO
notepad-plus-plus
notepad-plus-plus
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-25926
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-25926
Product
https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/tag/v8.9.2
Exploit
https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-rjvm-fcxw-2jxq
Press/Media Coverage
https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v892-released
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