Code execution via unverified updater installer
Published Feb 3, 2026 · Updated Feb 3, 2026
Update integrity failure in the WinGUp updater for Notepad++ before 8.8.9 allows remote attackers to execute code through redirected traffic. WinGUp accepts attacker-controlled update metadata and launches the referenced installer without validating its certificate or cryptographic signature. Exploitation requires control of update routing or traffic and an update check; code then runs with the privileges of the Notepad++ user.
Summary
What happened
Update integrity failure in the WinGUp updater for Notepad++ before 8.8.9 allows remote attackers to execute code through redirected traffic. WinGUp accepts attacker-controlled update metadata and launches the referenced installer without validating its certificate or cryptographic signature. Exploitation requires control of update routing or traffic and an update check; code then runs with the privileges of the Notepad++ user.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-15556
- Published
- Feb 3, 2026
- Updated
- Feb 3, 2026
- Vendor
- Notepad++
- Product
- Notepad++
- Classifications
- CWE-494, T1195.002
- Attack vector
- network
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Feb 3, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Feb 3, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <8.8.9
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
No public exploit references are available in this record.
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Reported exploitation
- CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog listingknown exploited catalog
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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