CVE-2026-46710

Local privilege escalation via PowerShell search-order hijacking

Published Jun 26, 2026 · Updated Jun 26, 2026

Local privilege escalation in the Notepad++ 8.9.4 and 8.9.5 installer allows local users to execute code with installer privileges. The RegisterMSIX function in PowerEditor/installer/nppSetup.nsi launches powershell.exe by name after setting the working directory to $INSTDIR\contextMenu, allowing Windows search order to select an attacker-planted executable. Exploitation requires Windows 11, a user-writable custom installation directory containing the planted executable, and a privileged user who selects that directory during installation.

CVSS severity7.8
High
EPSS probability0.15%
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++ 8.9.4 and 8.9.5 installer allows local users to execute code with installer privileges. The RegisterMSIX function in PowerEditor/installer/nppSetup.nsi launches powershell.exe by name after setting the working directory to $INSTDIR\contextMenu, allowing Windows search order to select an attacker-planted executable. Exploitation requires Windows 11, a user-writable custom installation directory containing the planted executable, and a privileged user who selects that directory during installation.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-46710
Published
Jun 26, 2026
Updated
Jun 26, 2026
Vendor
Notepad++
Product
Notepad++
Classifications
CWE-426, T1574.008
Attack vector
local
Privileges
Unavailable

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jun 26, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Jun 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=>= 8.9.4, < 8.9.6

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesUnavailable in this record.

What is affected?

Notepad++ · Notepad++version=>= 8.9.4, < 8.9.6

Published CVSS scores

7.8NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.5GitHub CNACVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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
PrivilegesUnavailable
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-426Untrusted Search Path
T1574.008Hijack Execution Flow: Path Interception by Search Order Hijacking

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

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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