What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-20841: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 9.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: none known
• Published: 2026-02-10 · updated 2026-08-19
• Weakness: CWE-77

Description

Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Windows Notepad App allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

Affected products

• Microsoft Windows Notepad: before 11.2510 — fixed in 11.2510
• Microsoft Windows Notepad: from 11.0.0 before 11.2512.26.0 — fixed in 11.2512.26.0

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Microsoft Windows Notepad 11.2510; Microsoft Windows Notepad 11.2512.26.0. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841
• https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46971516

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