CVE-2026-77605 json
Notepad++ “Run by system” executes *.txt.cmd when user selected *.txt (target confusion → command execution)
published 2mo ago modified 6d ago also EUVD-2026-84573 , GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw
Unreviewed: the maintainers' own advisory
Published by the maintainers on their GitHub repository notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus. GitHub has not reviewed it into the GitHub Advisory Database, so the affected packages and versions are the maintainers' word. Read the full advisory on GitHub.
- cvss
- 7.8
- version 3.1, CNA
- cisa kev
- Not listed
- not in CISA's catalog
- epss
- 0.2%
- EPSS 0.2% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 11%
- public exploits
- 0
- none known
Summary
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.
Patch / fix
- notepad-plus-plus notepad++ 8.9.8
Is CVE-2026-77605 in your stack? Fencer shows which of your repositories are affected as soon as an advisory lands, and opens the fix as a pull request.
Check with FencerCISA SSVC
- Exploitation
- Proof of concept is public
- Automatable
- no
- Technical impact
- total
- Assessed
- last mo.
Exploit prediction
0.21% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 11% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-11).
Exploits and checks
- github.com https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified
CVSS scores
| assigned by | version | score | vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | 3.1 | 7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
Affected products
- notepad-plus-plus notepad-plus-plus
Classification
References
- github.com /notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/00fa5df0da1d4f6b334317aa979db13ac77ee24d
-
github.com
/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw
exploit, advisory
- github.com /notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/tag/v8.9.8
- notepad-plus-plus.org /news/v898-released
Sources
- CVE List CVE-2026-77605
- NVD CVE-2026-77605
- Maintainer advisory GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw
Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.
The maintainers of notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus published their own advisory on GitHub. Reviewed sources take precedence over it.
CPEs and fixed versions use Anchore's correction of NVD's data: Added CPE configurations because not yet analyzed by NVD.