CVE-2026-38972 (GCVE-0-2026-38972)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-07-02 00:00 – Updated: 2026-07-06 14:42
VLAI
Summary
Notepad3 through 6.25.822.1 contains a DLL search-order hijacking vulnerability in the About-dialog code path in src/Notepad3.c. The application calls LoadLibrary(L"MSFTEDIT.DLL") with a bare DLL name, which allows a local attacker to place a malicious MSFTEDIT.DLL in the application directory or another preferred DLL search location and achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the user when the About dialog is opened.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SSVC
Exploitation: poc Automatable: no Technical Impact: total
CISA Coordinator (v2.0.3)
CWE
  • n/a
  • CWE-427 - Uncontrolled Search Path Element
Assigner
References
Show details on NVD website
To clipboard 

{
  "containers": {
    "adp": [
      {
        "metrics": [
          {
            "cvssV3_1": {
              "attackComplexity": "LOW",
              "attackVector": "LOCAL",
              "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
              "baseScore": 7.8,
              "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
              "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
              "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
              "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
              "scope": "UNCHANGED",
              "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
              "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
              "version": "3.1"
            }
          },
          {
            "other": {
              "content": {
                "id": "CVE-2026-38972",
                "options": [
                  {
                    "Exploitation": "poc"
                  },
                  {
                    "Automatable": "no"
                  },
                  {
                    "Technical Impact": "total"
                  }
                ],
                "role": "CISA Coordinator",
                "timestamp": "2026-07-06T14:42:46.409319Z",
                "version": "2.0.3"
              },
              "type": "ssvc"
            }
          }
        ],
        "problemTypes": [
          {
            "descriptions": [
              {
                "cweId": "CWE-427",
                "description": "CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path Element",
                "lang": "en",
                "type": "CWE"
              }
            ]
          }
        ],
        "providerMetadata": {
          "dateUpdated": "2026-07-06T14:42:52.329Z",
          "orgId": "134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0",
          "shortName": "CISA-ADP"
        },
        "references": [
          {
            "tags": [
              "exploit"
            ],
            "url": "https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605"
          }
        ],
        "title": "CISA ADP Vulnrichment"
      }
    ],
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "n/a",
          "vendor": "n/a",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "n/a"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "Notepad3 through 6.25.822.1 contains a DLL search-order hijacking vulnerability in the About-dialog code path in src/Notepad3.c. The application calls LoadLibrary(L\"MSFTEDIT.DLL\") with a bare DLL name, which allows a local attacker to place a malicious MSFTEDIT.DLL in the application directory or another preferred DLL search location and achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the user when the About dialog is opened."
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "description": "n/a",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "text"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-07-02T20:48:56.193Z",
        "orgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
        "shortName": "mitre"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "url": "https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/pull/5606"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605"
        },
        {
          "url": "https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3"
        }
      ]
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca",
    "assignerShortName": "mitre",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-38972",
    "datePublished": "2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-04-06T00:00:00.000Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-07-06T14:42:52.329Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2",
  "vulnerability-lookup:meta": {
    "epss": {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-38972",
      "date": "2026-07-08",
      "epss": "0.00148",
      "percentile": "0.04437"
    },
    "nvd": "{\"cve\":{\"id\":\"CVE-2026-38972\",\"sourceIdentifier\":\"cve@mitre.org\",\"published\":\"2026-07-02T21:16:56.353\",\"lastModified\":\"2026-07-08T18:49:50.400\",\"vulnStatus\":\"Analyzed\",\"cveTags\":[],\"descriptions\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"Notepad3 through 6.25.822.1 contains a DLL search-order hijacking vulnerability in the About-dialog code path in src/Notepad3.c. The application calls LoadLibrary(L\\\"MSFTEDIT.DLL\\\") with a bare DLL name, which allows a local attacker to place a malicious MSFTEDIT.DLL in the application directory or another preferred DLL search location and achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the user when the About dialog is opened.\"}],\"affected\":[{\"source\":\"cve@mitre.org\",\"affectedData\":[{\"vendor\":\"n/a\",\"product\":\"n/a\",\"versions\":[{\"version\":\"n/a\",\"status\":\"affected\"}]}]}],\"metrics\":{\"cvssMetricV31\":[{\"source\":\"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"cvssData\":{\"version\":\"3.1\",\"vectorString\":\"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H\",\"baseScore\":7.8,\"baseSeverity\":\"HIGH\",\"attackVector\":\"LOCAL\",\"attackComplexity\":\"LOW\",\"privilegesRequired\":\"NONE\",\"userInteraction\":\"REQUIRED\",\"scope\":\"UNCHANGED\",\"confidentialityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"integrityImpact\":\"HIGH\",\"availabilityImpact\":\"HIGH\"},\"exploitabilityScore\":1.8,\"impactScore\":5.9}],\"ssvcV203\":[{\"source\":\"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\",\"ssvcData\":{\"timestamp\":\"2026-07-06T14:42:46.409319Z\",\"id\":\"CVE-2026-38972\",\"options\":[{\"exploitation\":\"poc\"},{\"automatable\":\"no\"},{\"technicalImpact\":\"total\"}],\"role\":\"CISA Coordinator\",\"version\":\"2.0.3\"}}]},\"weaknesses\":[{\"source\":\"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\",\"type\":\"Secondary\",\"description\":[{\"lang\":\"en\",\"value\":\"CWE-427\"}]}],\"configurations\":[{\"nodes\":[{\"operator\":\"OR\",\"negate\":false,\"cpeMatch\":[{\"vulnerable\":true,\"criteria\":\"cpe:2.3:a:rizonesoft:notepad3:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:*\",\"versionEndIncluding\":\"6.25.822.1\",\"matchCriteriaId\":\"35948CE1-8CB5-4879-A6FC-482FD123643E\"}]}]}],\"references\":[{\"url\":\"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3\",\"source\":\"cve@mitre.org\",\"tags\":[\"Product\"]},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605\",\"source\":\"cve@mitre.org\",\"tags\":[\"Exploit\",\"Issue Tracking\"]},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/pull/5606\",\"source\":\"cve@mitre.org\",\"tags\":[\"Issue Tracking\",\"Patch\"]},{\"url\":\"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605\",\"source\":\"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\",\"tags\":[\"Exploit\",\"Issue Tracking\"]}]}}",
    "vulnrichment": {
      "containers": "{\"adp\": [{\"title\": \"CISA ADP Vulnrichment\", \"metrics\": [{\"cvssV3_1\": {\"scope\": \"UNCHANGED\", \"version\": \"3.1\", \"baseScore\": 7.8, \"attackVector\": \"LOCAL\", \"baseSeverity\": \"HIGH\", \"vectorString\": \"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H\", \"integrityImpact\": \"HIGH\", \"userInteraction\": \"REQUIRED\", \"attackComplexity\": \"LOW\", \"availabilityImpact\": \"HIGH\", \"privilegesRequired\": \"NONE\", \"confidentialityImpact\": \"HIGH\"}}, {\"other\": {\"type\": \"ssvc\", \"content\": {\"id\": \"CVE-2026-38972\", \"role\": \"CISA Coordinator\", \"options\": [{\"Exploitation\": \"poc\"}, {\"Automatable\": \"no\"}, {\"Technical Impact\": \"total\"}], \"version\": \"2.0.3\", \"timestamp\": \"2026-07-06T14:42:46.409319Z\"}}}], \"references\": [{\"url\": \"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605\", \"tags\": [\"exploit\"]}], \"problemTypes\": [{\"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"CWE\", \"cweId\": \"CWE-427\", \"description\": \"CWE-427 Uncontrolled Search Path Element\"}]}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0\", \"shortName\": \"CISA-ADP\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-06T14:41:50.532Z\"}}], \"cna\": {\"affected\": [{\"vendor\": \"n/a\", \"product\": \"n/a\", \"versions\": [{\"status\": \"affected\", \"version\": \"n/a\"}]}], \"references\": [{\"url\": \"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/pull/5606\"}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605\"}, {\"url\": \"https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3\"}], \"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"value\": \"Notepad3 through 6.25.822.1 contains a DLL search-order hijacking vulnerability in the About-dialog code path in src/Notepad3.c. The application calls LoadLibrary(L\\\"MSFTEDIT.DLL\\\") with a bare DLL name, which allows a local attacker to place a malicious MSFTEDIT.DLL in the application directory or another preferred DLL search location and achieve arbitrary code execution in the context of the user when the About dialog is opened.\"}], \"problemTypes\": [{\"descriptions\": [{\"lang\": \"en\", \"type\": \"text\", \"description\": \"n/a\"}]}], \"providerMetadata\": {\"orgId\": \"8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca\", \"shortName\": \"mitre\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-02T20:48:56.193Z\"}}}",
      "cveMetadata": "{\"cveId\": \"CVE-2026-38972\", \"state\": \"PUBLISHED\", \"dateUpdated\": \"2026-07-06T14:42:52.329Z\", \"dateReserved\": \"2026-04-06T00:00:00.000Z\", \"assignerOrgId\": \"8254265b-2729-46b6-b9e3-3dfca2d5bfca\", \"datePublished\": \"2026-07-02T00:00:00.000Z\", \"assignerShortName\": \"mitre\"}",
      "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
      "dataVersion": "5.2"
    }
  }
}


Log in or create an account to share your comment.




Tags
Taxonomy of the tags.





Forecast uses a logistic model when the trend is rising, or an exponential decay model when the trend is falling. Fitted via linearized least squares.

Sightings

Author Source Type Date Other

Nomenclature

  • Seen: The vulnerability was mentioned, discussed, or observed by the user.
  • Confirmed: The vulnerability has been validated from an analyst's perspective.
  • Published Proof of Concept: A public proof of concept is available for this vulnerability.
  • Exploited: The vulnerability was observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Patched: The vulnerability was observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not exploited: The vulnerability was not observed as exploited by the user who reported the sighting.
  • Not confirmed: The user expressed doubt about the validity of the vulnerability.
  • Not patched: The vulnerability was not observed as successfully patched by the user who reported the sighting.


Detection rules are retrieved from Rulezet.