What’s Vulnerable › Vulnerabilities

CVE-2026-48778: Notepad++: Arbitrary Code Execution via config.xml commandLineInterpreter

• Severity: high (CVSS 7.8 v3.1)
• Exploited in the wild: not listed in CISA KEV
• EPSS: 0.6% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
• Public exploit or detection template: yes
• Published: 2026-06-26 · updated 2026-06-29
• Weakness: CWE-78

Description

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.1, the <GUIConfig name="commandLineInterpreter"> tag in config.xml is read by NppXml::value() (Parameters.cpp:6430) and stored in _nppGUI._commandLineInterpreter without any validation, whitelist, or digital signature check. When the user triggers IDM_FILE_OPEN_CMD (File → Open Containing Folder → cmd), NppCommands.cpp:228 creates a Command object with this value and calls run(), which invokes ShellExecute (RunDlg.cpp:221) with the attacker-controlled string as the executable path. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.1.

Affected products

• Notepad++: before 8.9.6.1 — fixed in 8.9.6.1

How to fix

Upgrade to a fixed version: Notepad++ 8.9.6.1. Check the vendor advisory for mitigations.

References

• https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/24c7b5c63cece76dbc8c4f2607a27ebfe22fa614
• https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-7hm3-wp5q-ccv9
• https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-7hm3-wp5q-ccv9

Get alerted when CVE-2026-48778 or the next vulnerability affects your stack