High severity · published Jun 26, 2026
CVE-2026-46710
Notepad++: Privilege Escalation in the Installer via Uncontrolled Executable Search Path
7.8
CVSS
0.2%
EPSS
No
On KEV
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.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.2% · higher than 4% 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
>= 8.9.4, < 8.9.6 · source: vendor
NO
Notepad++ · Notepad-plus-plus
8.9.4 before 8.9.6 · source: NVD
Affected product
NO
notepad-plus-plus
notepad-plus-plus
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