VulnerabilityPublished 26 Sep 2025Updated 26 Feb 2026

CVE-2025-56383: Notepad++ · Uncontrolled Search Path Element

Source CVE Database V5

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 8.4 High.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 13:47 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score

8.4High

How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.

EPSS: 0.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 31% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Attack Vector: Local
Attack Complexity: Low
Privileges Required: None
User Interaction: None
Scope: Unchanged
Confidentiality: High
Integrity: High
Availability: High

Bold values are the worst case: easiest to exploit or largest impact.

Attack Vector: Local: The vulnerable component is not bound to the network stack and the attacker’s path is via read/write/execute capabilities. Either: the attacker exploits the vulnerability by accessing the target system locally (e.g., keyboard, console), or remotely (e.g., SSH); or the attacker relies on User Interaction by another person to perform actions required to exploit the vulnerability (e.g., tricking a legitimate user into opening a malicious document).
Attack Complexity: Low: Specialized access conditions or extenuating circumstances do not exist. An attacker can expect repeatable success against the vulnerable component.
Privileges Required: None: The attacker is unauthorized prior to attack, and therefore does not require any access to settings or files to carry out an attack.
User Interaction: None: The vulnerable system can be exploited without any interaction from any user.
Scope: Unchanged: An exploited vulnerability can only affect resources managed by the same security authority. In this case, the vulnerable component and the impacted component are either the same, or both are managed by the same security authority.
Confidentiality: High: There is total loss of confidentiality, resulting in all resources within the impacted component being divulged to the attacker. Alternatively, access to only some restricted information is obtained, but the disclosed information presents a direct, serious impact.
Integrity: High: There is a total loss of integrity, or a complete loss of protection. For example, the attacker is able to modify any/all files protected by the impacted component. Alternatively, only some files can be modified, but malicious modification would present a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component.
Availability: High: There is total loss of availability, resulting in the attacker being able to fully deny access to resources in the impacted component; this loss is either sustained (while the attacker continues to deliver the attack) or persistent (the condition persists even after the attack has completed). Alternatively, the attacker has the ability to deny some availability, but the loss of availability presents a direct, serious consequence to the impacted component (e.g., the attacker cannot disrupt existing connections, but can prevent new connections; the attacker can repeatedly exploit a vulnerability that, in each instance of a successful attack, leaks a only small amount of memory, but after repeated exploitation causes a service to become completely unavailable).

Definitions: FIRST CVSS v3.1 specification.

Exploitation evidence

Disclosed: evidence found.
CVE published 26 Sep 2025
Detectable: no evidence on record.
No public nuclei template indexed
Weaponised: no evidence on record.
No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB
Exploited in the wildExploited: no evidence on record.
Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation
Observed by OffSeq MirageSeen by Mirage: no evidence on record.
No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

Disclosed: The CVE record is public on cve.org. Its publication is t = 0.
Detectable: A public nuclei template can find exposed instances, for defenders and attackers alike.
Weaponised: Public exploit code exists in Metasploit or Exploit-DB, or CISA SSVC or the CVSS exploit maturity reports a public proof of concept.
Exploited in the wild: CISA KEV lists it, CISA SSVC rates exploitation active, or a source reports attacks.
Observed by OffSeq Mirage: OffSeq Mirage honeypot sensors recorded attack traffic for this CVE, or found exposed hosts without attack traffic.

Moments are spaced evenly, not to scale; a dashed line marks a gap of six months or more. Deltas count from t = 0. Sources that give only a date (CISA KEV, Exploit-DB, or a time of exactly 00:00Z) read “same day” rather than hours. Metasploit modules carry the flaw’s disclosure date, not their release date, and nuclei templates carry no date, so both appear above but not on the timeline.

What to do

AI-suggested

To mitigate this vulnerability, organizations should ensure that Notepad++ is installed only in directories with strict access controls, preventing write permissions for unprivileged users. Review and harden file system permissions on all directories containing executable files and DLLs related to Notepad++. Avoid installing Notepad++ in shared or user-writable locations such as temporary folders or network shares with lax permissions. Employ application whitelisting and integrity monitoring to detect unauthorized DLL modifications. Users should monitor for updates from Notepad++ developers and apply patches promptly once available. Additionally, consider running Notepad++ with the least privilege necessary and educate users about the risks of installing software in insecure locations. Network segmentation and endpoint protection solutions can further reduce the risk of lateral movement if exploitation occurs.

Description

Notepad++ v8.8.3 has a DLL hijacking vulnerability, which can replace the original DLL file to execute malicious code. NOTE: this is disputed by multiple parties because the behavior only occurs when a user installs the product into a directory tree that allows write access by arbitrary unprivileged users.

Impact

If exploited, this vulnerability allows attackers to execute arbitrary code with the same privileges as the user running Notepad++. This can lead to full compromise of the user's session, including data theft, system manipulation, or deployment of further malware. The impact extends to confidentiality, integrity, and availability of affected systems. Since Notepad++ is widely used by developers, IT professionals, and general users, exploitation could facilitate lateral movement within networks if the compromised user has elevated privileges or access to sensitive resources. However, the requirement for the installation directory to be writable by unprivileged users limits the scope of impact, reducing the likelihood of widespread exploitation in properly managed environments. Organizations with shared workstations or lax directory permissions are at higher risk. The absence of known exploits in the wild suggests limited active targeting but does not preclude future attacks.

Summary

CVE-2025-56383 identifies a DLL hijacking vulnerability in Notepad++ version 8.8.3. DLL hijacking occurs when an application loads a dynamic link library (DLL) from an untrusted or writable directory, allowing an attacker to substitute a malicious DLL for a legitimate one. In this case, if Notepad++ is installed in a directory tree where arbitrary unprivileged users have write permissions, an attacker can place a malicious DLL that will be loaded by Notepad++ upon execution. This results in arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user running the application. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element). The CVSS v3.1 base score is 8.4, reflecting high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability, with low attack complexity, no privileges required, and no user interaction needed. However, the vulnerability's exploitability is limited by the prerequisite that the installation directory must be writable by unprivileged users, which is not typical for default Notepad++ installations. No patches have been released yet, and no known exploits have been observed in the wild. The dispute around this vulnerability centers on whether the installation condition constitutes a realistic threat vector. Nevertheless, environments where Notepad++ is installed in shared or improperly permissioned directories remain at risk.

CWE-427Uncontrolled Search Path Element (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A08:2025: Software or Data Integrity Failures (opens in a new tab)
The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.
Architecture and Design · Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Hard-code the search path to a set of known-safe values (such as system directories), or only allow them to be specified by the administrator in a configuration file. Do not allow these settings to be modified by an external party. Be careful to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-426 and CWE-428.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
When invoking other programs, specify those programs using fully-qualified pathnames. While this is an effective approach, code that uses fully-qualified pathnames might not be portable to other systems that do not use the same pathnames.
Implementation · Attack Surface Reduction
Remove or restrict all environment settings before invoking other programs. This includes the PATH environment variable, LD_LIBRARY_PATH, and other settings that identify the location of code libraries, and any application-specific search paths.
OWASP Cheat Sheets
Software Supply Chain Security (opens in a new tab)
Infrastructure as Code (opens in a new tab)
Attack patterns
Leveraging/Manipulating Configuration File Search Paths (opens in a new tab)
Search Order Hijacking (opens in a new tab)
From MITRE CWE, MITRE CAPEC and OWASP (Top 10, OpenCRE).

References

Community reviews

Loading reviews…

Exploitation evidence

What to do

Description

AI analysisMachine-generated, updated 27 Feb 2026, 03:50 UTC

WeaknessesCWE-427

Technical details

References

Community reviews

Related threats