{
  "document": {
    "acknowledgments": [
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/chen9918b\"\u003echen\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/diyarsaadi/\"\u003eDiyar Saadi\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "Tim Zheng"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "Rudolf \u0026quot;divVerent\u0026quot; Polzer with \u003ca href=\"https://www.google.com/\"\u003eGoogle LLC\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          " \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/diyarsaadi/\"\u003eDiyar Saadi\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/qymag1c\"\u003eQYmag1c\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "Matthew Selbrede"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://patyk.lol/\"\u003ePatRyk\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/jad-ghamloush\"\u003eJad Ghamloush\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://github.com/r888800009\"\u003elin.yx\u003c/a\u003e with \u003ca href=\"https://www.chtsecurity.com/\"\u003eCHT Security Co., Ltd.\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/alasdair-gorniak/\"\u003eAlasdair Gorniak\u003c/a\u003e with \u003ca href=\"https://delta.cyberm.ca/\"\u003eDelta Obscura\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      },
      {
        "names": [
          "\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/cristian-papa-aa4a38212/\"\u003eCristian-Iulian Papa\u003c/a\u003e"
        ]
      }
    ],
    "aggregate_severity": {
      "namespace": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc/security-update-severity-rating-system",
      "text": "Important"
    },
    "category": "csaf_security_advisory",
    "csaf_version": "2.0",
    "distribution": {
      "text": "Public",
      "tlp": {
        "label": "WHITE",
        "url": "https://www.first.org/tlp/"
      }
    },
    "lang": "en-US",
    "notes": [
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "To determine the support lifecycle for your software, see the Microsoft Support Lifecycle: https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle",
        "title": "Additional Resources"
      },
      {
        "category": "legal_disclaimer",
        "text": "The information provided in the Microsoft Knowledge Base is provided \\\"as is\\\" without warranty of any kind. Microsoft disclaims all warranties, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. In no event shall Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers be liable for any damages whatsoever including direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, loss of business profits or special damages, even if Microsoft Corporation or its suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or incidental damages so the foregoing limitation may not apply.",
        "title": "Disclaimer"
      },
      {
        "category": "general",
        "text": "Required. The vulnerability documented by this CVE requires customer action to resolve.",
        "title": "Customer Action"
      }
    ],
    "publisher": {
      "category": "vendor",
      "contact_details": "secure@microsoft.com",
      "name": "Microsoft Security Response Center",
      "namespace": "https://msrc.microsoft.com"
    },
    "references": [
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "CVE-2026-20841 Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - HTML",
        "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841"
      },
      {
        "category": "self",
        "summary": "CVE-2026-20841 Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CSAF",
        "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/csaf/advisories/2026/msrc_cve-2026-20841.json"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Microsoft Exploitability Index",
        "url": "https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/msrc/exploitability-index?rtc=1"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Microsoft Support Lifecycle",
        "url": "https://support.microsoft.com/lifecycle"
      },
      {
        "category": "external",
        "summary": "Common Vulnerability Scoring System",
        "url": "https://www.first.org/cvss"
      }
    ],
    "title": "Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability",
    "tracking": {
      "current_release_date": "2026-03-12T07:00:00.000Z",
      "generator": {
        "date": "2026-03-12T17:02:46.838Z",
        "engine": {
          "name": "MSRC Generator",
          "version": "1.0"
        }
      },
      "id": "msrc_CVE-2026-20841",
      "initial_release_date": "2026-02-10T08:00:00.000Z",
      "revision_history": [
        {
          "date": "2026-02-10T08:00:00.000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1",
          "number": "1",
          "summary": "Information published."
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-02-12T08:00:00.000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.1",
          "number": "2",
          "summary": "Added FAQ information. This is an informational change only."
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-02-12T08:00:00.000Z",
          "legacy_version": "1.3",
          "number": "3",
          "summary": "Added an FAQ and updated the CVSS score. This is an informational change only."
        },
        {
          "date": "2026-03-12T07:00:00.000Z",
          "legacy_version": "2",
          "number": "4",
          "summary": "To comprehensively address CVE-2026-20841, Microsoft has released February 2026 security updates for the Windows Notepad App. Microsoft recommends that customers install the update to be fully protected from the vulnerability."
        }
      ],
      "status": "final",
      "version": "4"
    }
  },
  "product_tree": {
    "branches": [
      {
        "branches": [
          {
            "category": "product_version_range",
            "name": "\u003c11.2512",
            "product": {
              "name": "Windows Notepad \u003c11.2512",
              "product_id": "1"
            }
          },
          {
            "category": "product_version",
            "name": "11.2512",
            "product": {
              "name": "Windows Notepad 11.2512",
              "product_id": "20763"
            }
          }
        ],
        "category": "product_name",
        "name": "Windows Notepad"
      }
    ]
  },
  "vulnerabilities": [
    {
      "cve": "CVE-2026-20841",
      "cwe": {
        "id": "CWE-77",
        "name": "Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in a Command (\u0027Command Injection\u0027)"
      },
      "notes": [
        {
          "category": "general",
          "text": "Microsoft",
          "title": "Assigning CNA"
        },
        {
          "category": "faq",
          "text": "An attacker could trick a user into clicking a malicious link inside a Markdown file opened in Notepad, causing the application to launch unverified protocols that load and  execute both remote and local files.",
          "title": "How could an attacker exploit this vulnerability?"
        },
        {
          "category": "faq",
          "text": "The word Remote in the title refers to the location of the attacker. This type of exploit is sometimes referred to as Arbitrary Code Execution (ACE). The attack itself is carried out locally.\nFor example, when the score indicates that the Attack Vector is Local and User Interaction is Required, this could describe an exploit in which an attacker, through social engineering, convinces a victim to download and open a specially crafted file from a website which leads to a local attack on their computer.",
          "title": "According to the CVSS metric, the attack vector is local (AV:L). Why does the CVE title indicate that this is a remote code execution?"
        }
      ],
      "product_status": {
        "fixed": [
          "20763"
        ],
        "known_affected": [
          "1"
        ]
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "category": "self",
          "summary": "CVE-2026-20841 Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - HTML",
          "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841"
        },
        {
          "category": "self",
          "summary": "CVE-2026-20841 Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability - CSAF",
          "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/csaf/advisories/2026/msrc_cve-2026-20841.json"
        }
      ],
      "remediations": [
        {
          "category": "vendor_fix",
          "date": "2026-02-10T08:00:00.000Z",
          "details": "11.2512:Security Update:https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9MSMLRH6LZF3",
          "product_ids": [
            "1"
          ],
          "url": "https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9MSMLRH6LZF3"
        }
      ],
      "scores": [
        {
          "cvss_v3": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "environmentalsScore": 0.0,
            "exploitCodeMaturity": "UNPROVEN",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "remediationLevel": "OFFICIAL_FIX",
            "reportConfidence": "CONFIRMED",
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "temporalScore": 6.8,
            "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C",
            "version": "3.1"
          },
          "products": [
            "1"
          ]
        }
      ],
      "threats": [
        {
          "category": "impact",
          "details": "Remote Code Execution"
        },
        {
          "category": "exploit_status",
          "details": "Publicly Disclosed:No;Exploited:No;Latest Software Release:Exploitation Less Likely"
        }
      ],
      "title": "Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability"
    }
  ]
}