Vulnerability in Rizonesoft Notepad3
CVE-2026-38972
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.
Published · last modified .
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.
EPSS exploit prediction
EPSS: 0.002 (7.7th percentile), scored .
Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 8th percentile — 7.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.
EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.002 · newest: 0.002 · change: 0.000
Affected products
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3 (Product)
- github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605 (Exploit, Issue Tracking)
- github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/pull/5606 (Patch, Issue Tracking)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-38972?
- CVE-2026-38972 is a high-severity vulnerability in Rizonesoft Notepad3, classified under Uncontrolled Search Path Element. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2026-07-02.
- How severe is CVE-2026-38972?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.