{"id":"CVE-2025-49144","title":"Notepad++ Privilege Escalation in Installer via Uncontrolled Executable Search Path","summary":"Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. In versions 8.8.1 and prior, a privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Notepad++ v8.8.1 installer that allows unprivileged users to gain SYSTEM-level privileges through ins…","severity":"high","cvss":7.3,"cvssVector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvssSource":"cna","cwe":["CWE-272","CWE-276","CWE-427"],"vendor":"notepad-plus-plus","product":"notepad-plus-plus","affected":["notepad-plus-plus < 8.8.2"],"ssvc":{"exploitation":"none","automatable":"no","technicalImpact":"total","timestamp":"2025-07-01T03:55:56.996774Z"},"exploitAvailable":true,"published":"2025-06-23","updated":"2026-11-03","sourceUpdated":"2026-11-03T22:03:05.260Z","source":"CVEORG","sourceUrl":"https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2025-49144","references":[{"url":"https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-9vx8-v79m-6m24","label":"https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-9vx8-v79m-6m24"},{"url":"https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/f2346ea00d5b4d907ed39d8726b38d77c8198f30","label":"https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/f2346ea00d5b4d907ed39d8726b38d77c8198f30"},{"url":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11yeUSWgqHvt4Bz5jO3ilRRfcpQZ6Gvpn","label":"https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11yeUSWgqHvt4Bz5jO3ilRRfcpQZ6Gvpn"}],"tags":["cve.org","exploit-available"],"epss":0.00658,"epssPercentile":0.51607,"exploits":{"github":8,"githubRepos":["https://github.com/Vr00mm/CVE-2025-49144","https://github.com/TheTorjanCaptain/CVE-2025-49144_PoC","https://github.com/assad12341/notepad-v8.8.1-LPE-CVE-"],"checkedAt":"2026-11-05T20:33:42.471Z"},"ingestedAt":"2026-11-05T20:33:06.564Z","slug":"CVE-2025-49144","body":"## Overview\n\nNotepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. In versions 8.8.1 and prior, a privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Notepad++ v8.8.1 installer that allows unprivileged users to gain SYSTEM-level privileges through insecure executable search paths. An attacker could use social engineering or clickjacking to trick users into downloading both the legitimate installer and a malicious executable to the same directory (typically Downloads folder - which is known as Vulnerable directory). Upon running the installer, the attack executes automatically with SYSTEM privileges. This issue has been fixed and will be released in version 8.8.2.\n\n## Affected\n\n- `notepad-plus-plus < 8.8.2`\n\n## Remediation\n\nRefer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.","depth":"midnight","depthScore":52,"depthScoreParts":{"impact":40.2,"likelihood":0.1,"exploitation":12,"ransomware":0},"changes":[]}