CVE-2026-48778 | Notepad++: Arbitrary Code Execution via config.xml commandLineInterpreter

Exp

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.1, the <GUIConfig name="commandLineInterpreter"> tag in config.xml is read by NppXml::value() (Parameters.cpp:6430) and stored in _nppGUI._commandLineInterpreter without any validation, whitelist, or digital signature check. When the user triggers IDM_FILE_OPEN_CMD (File → Open Containing Folder → cmd), NppCommands.cpp:228 creates a Command object with this value and calls run(), which invokes ShellExecute (RunDlg.cpp:221) with the attacker-controlled string as the executable path. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.1.

Published: 2026-06-26 Last update: 2026-06-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2026-48778 is rated High Exploit Risk (69.6/100): CVSS High severity, with medium exploitation likelihood (EPSS 1.31%). 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2026-48778

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
52606 exploit_db edb 2026-05-30 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2026-48778

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-06-30 1.37% 1.31% -0.06%
2 2026-06-27 0.02% 1.37% +1.35%
3 2026-06-12 — 0.02% —

Full EPSS history (3 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2026-48778

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2026-48778

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2026-48778

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
notepad-plus-plus notepad\+\+ < 8.9.6.1 cpe:2.3:a:notepad-plus-plus:notepad\+\+:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2026-48778

cvelogic Threat Intelligence