Vulnerability in Notepad-Plus-Plus

CVE-2025-49144

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 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.

Published · last modified .

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.3 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.007 (50.6th percentile), scored .

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 51st percentile — 50.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS trend (30 days)EPSS over the last 30 days for CVE-2025-49144: held from 0.006 to 0.007.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.006 · newest: 0.007 · change: +0.000

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2025-49144?
CVE-2025-49144 is a high-severity vulnerability in Notepad-Plus-Plus, classified under CWE-272. CVSS score: 7.3/10. Published 2025-06-23.
How severe is CVE-2025-49144?
High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.3 out of 10.
Is CVE-2025-49144 known to be exploited?
22 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed. Not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.