CVE-2026-77605
CVE-2026-77605 — Notepad++ “Run by system” executes *.txt.cmd when user selected *.txt (target confusion → command execution)
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.
Published Updated Sources: cvelistV5, GitHub_M
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the scoring sources call it.
Exploitation
Unreported
no source claims exploitation
EPSS
0%
chance of exploitation in 30 days
CVSS base
7.8
HIGH
CISA SSVC assessment
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses · SSVC 2.0.3. A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Exploitation
PoC
none · proof-of-concept · active
Automatable
No
can an attacker script all four kill-chain steps
Technical impact
Total
partial · total control of the vulnerable component
Affected scope
The catalog records vendors and products as separate lists, not pairs, so which product belongs to which vendor is not something this page can say.
Vendors (1)
Products (1)
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | — | — | cvelistV5 |
Weakness & attack patterns
- CWE-20
- CWE-706
Attack patterns reported against this CVE. The ATT&CK techniques below are inferred from its weakness class.
- T1562.003Impair Defenses: Impair Command History Logging
- T1574.006Hijack Execution Flow: Dynamic Linker Hijacking
- T1574.007Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by PATH Environment Variable
References
4 on the record
- github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-w5xq-frjg-w4cw
x_refsource_CONFIRM
- github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/00fa5df0da1d4f6b334317aa979db13ac77ee24d
x_refsource_MISC
- github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/tag/v8.9.8
x_refsource_MISC
- notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v898-released
x_refsource_MISC
Elsewhere on this site
- notepad plus plusevery CVE for this vendor
- CWE-20other pages naming this weakness
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.