CVE-2026-85995
CVE-2026-85995 — Notepad++: Authenticode verification bypass allows modified updater execution
Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. From 8.9.7 until 8.9.8, the Notepad++ updater and signature verification path can accept a modified GUP.exe file whose embedded certificate metadata remains present even though its Authenticode digest is invalid. An attacker who can replace or plant the updater-related file can cause Notepad++ to launch attacker-modified code when a user triggers the updater path, but the issue does not provide remote code execution by itself. 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
7.3
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
None
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.3 | CVSS 3.1 | HIGH | — | — | cvelistV5 |
Weakness & attack patterns
- CWE-347
References
4 on the record
- github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-cx87-7hhq-m2j3
x_refsource_CONFIRM
- github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/9edf40f725ce62b26c454905e39f0f7fdbbb3ffa
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-347other 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.