CVE-2025-49144Public exploit

SYSTEM code execution via unqualified installer commands

Published Jun 23, 2025 · Updated Feb 26, 2026

Local privilege escalation in the Notepad++ installer before 8.8.2 allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM via binary planting. Its NSIS scripts invoke regsvr32 and rundll32 without absolute paths, so Windows can resolve attacker-planted names from the launch directory. Exploitation requires a malicious executable beside the installer and user interaction to run the elevated installation, yielding full SYSTEM control.

CVSS severity7.3
High
EPSS probability0.63%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Local privilege escalation in the Notepad++ installer before 8.8.2 allows local users to execute code as SYSTEM via binary planting. Its NSIS scripts invoke regsvr32 and rundll32 without absolute paths, so Windows can resolve attacker-planted names from the launch directory. Exploitation requires a malicious executable beside the installer and user interaction to run the elevated installation, yielding full SYSTEM control.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-49144
Published
Jun 23, 2025
Updated
Feb 26, 2026
Vendor
Notepad++
Product
Notepad++
Classifications
CWE-272, CWE-276, CWE-427, T1574.008
Attack vector
local
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 23, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Feb 26, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.

Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 8.8.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Notepad++ · Notepad++version=< 8.8.2

Published CVSS scores

7.3GitHub GHSA-9vx8-v79m-6m24CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.6GitHub GHSA-g5rj-m8mm-cgw6CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

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.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-272Least Privilege Violation
CWE-276Incorrect Default Permissions
CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element
T1574.008Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking

Public exploit references

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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