Description
Notepad++ versions prior to 8.8.9, when using the WinGUp updater, contain an update integrity verification vulnerability where downloaded update metadata and installers are not cryptographically verified. An attacker able to intercept or redirect update traffic can cause the updater to download and execute an attacker-controlled installer, resulting in arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the user.
Affected products
| Vendor | Product | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|---|
| notepad-plus-plus | notepad-plus-plus | < 8.8.9 | 8.8.9 |
Public exploits
Exploit or proof-of-concept code for this vulnerability is publicly available, which lowers the bar for attackers. Treat it as a reason to patch sooner.
GitHub 2 repositories
-
George0Papasotiriou/CVE-2025-15556-Notepad-WinGUp-Updater-RCE ★ 1 · Feb 10, 2026
-
renat0z3r0/notepadpp-supply-chain-iocs ★ 1 · Feb 9, 2026
IoCs and detection rules for the Notepad++ supply chain attack (CVE-2025-15556) — Lotus Blossom APT, June–December 2025. Includes Falcon LogScale queries, YARA/Sigma rules, and MITRE ATT&CK mapping.
Sources: PoC-in-GitHub, Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB — updated daily. Only links are listed; no exploit code is hosted here.
Advisories 1
- WID-SEC-2025-2802 Notepad++: Schwachstelle ermöglicht Codeausführung BSI CERT-Bund (WID) · Feb 12, 2026
References
- https://community.notepad-plus-plus.org/topic/27298/notepad-v8-8-9-vulnerability-fix release-notes patch
- https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/hijacked-incident-info-update/ vendor-advisory
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/bcf2aa68ef414338d717e20e059459570ed6c5ab patch
- https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/wingup/commit/ce0037549995ed0396cc363544d14b3425614fdb patch
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/notepad-plus-plus-wingup-updater-lacks-update-integrity-verification third-party-advisory