DLL Search Order Hijacking in Notepad3

Publication date: 2026-07-02

Last updated on: 2026-07-08

Assigner: MITRE

Description

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.

CVSS Scores

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Meta Information

Published

2026-07-02

Last Modified

2026-07-08

Generated

2026-07-23

AI Q&A

2026-07-03

EPSS Evaluated

2026-07-21

NVD

CVE-2026-38972

Affected Vendors & Products

Vendor	Product	Version / Range
rizonesoft	notepad3	to 6.25.822.1 (inc)

Helpful Resources

Exploitability

CWE

KEV

CWE ID	Description
CWE-427	The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

Attack-Flow Graph

Executive Summary

Notepad3 versions up to 6.25.822.1 have a DLL search-order hijacking vulnerability in the About-dialog code path. Specifically, the application calls LoadLibrary with a bare DLL name "MSFTEDIT.DLL". This allows a local attacker to place a malicious DLL named MSFTEDIT.DLL in the application directory or another location that is searched first for DLLs. When the About dialog is opened, the malicious DLL is loaded, enabling the attacker to execute arbitrary code with the user's privileges.

Impact Analysis

This vulnerability can allow a local attacker to execute arbitrary code within the context of the user running Notepad3. This means the attacker could potentially run malicious code, access or modify user data, install malware, or perform other unauthorized actions with the same permissions as the user.

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