CVE-2026-52885

Published Jun 26, 2026

Last updated 7 days ago

Overview

Description
Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.4, NppCommands.cpp checks the HMAC of the on-disk shortcuts.xml at the moment a user command fires (Time-of-Check). However, the command payload is taken from the in-memory _userCommands vector, which is populated at application startup and never re-synchronized with the on-disk file (Time-of-Use). Swapping shortcuts.xml between startup and command execution causes the HMAC check to validate a clean file while a malicious command runs. An attacker with write access to shortcuts.xml places a malicious version on disk before launch, then immediately restores the legitimate file. The HMAC check at execution time validates the restored legitimate file (check passes), while the malicious payload executes from memory. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.4.
Source
security-advisories@github.com
NVD status
Analyzed
Products
notepad\+\+

Risk scores

CVSS 4.0

Type
Secondary
Base score
7.5
Impact score
-
Exploitability score
-
Vector string
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/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X
Severity
HIGH

CVSS 3.1

Type
Primary
Base score
6.3
Impact score
5.2
Exploitability score
1
Vector string
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
Severity
MEDIUM

Weaknesses

security-advisories@github.com
CWE-367

Social media

Hype score
Not currently trending

Configurations