Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-42

Path Equivalence: 'filename.' (Trailing Dot)

The product accepts path input in the form of trailing dot ('filedir.') without appropriate validation, which can lead to ambiguous path resolution and allow an attacker to traverse the file system to unintended locations or access arbitrary files.

CVE-2026-52884 (GCVE-0-2026-52884)

Vulnerability from cvelistv5 – Published: 2026-06-26 20:11 – Updated: 2026-06-26 20:11
VLAI
Title
Notepad++: CVE-2026-48800 Bypass
Summary
Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. In v8.9.6.1, isInTrustedDirectory() does NOT canonicalize the path before checking. It uses a prefix-based check (PathIsPrefix() or equivalent) that matches paths starting with trusted directory strings. A path traversal using ..\..\ after a trusted directory prefix passes the check while resolving to an untrusted location. The CVE-2026-48800 patch adds isInTrustedDirectory() validation in Command::run() (RunDlg.cpp) before calling ShellExecute(). This function checks whether the resolved executable path is under a trusted directory. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.2.
Severity
7.8 (High)
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CWE
  • CWE-42 - Path Equivalence: 'filename.' (Trailing Dot)
Assigner
References
Impacted products
Show details on NVD website
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{
  "containers": {
    "cna": {
      "affected": [
        {
          "product": "notepad-plus-plus",
          "vendor": "notepad-plus-plus",
          "versions": [
            {
              "status": "affected",
              "version": "= 8.9.6.1"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "descriptions": [
        {
          "lang": "en",
          "value": "Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. In v8.9.6.1, isInTrustedDirectory() does NOT canonicalize the path before checking. It uses a prefix-based check (PathIsPrefix() or equivalent) that matches paths starting with trusted directory strings. A path traversal using ..\\..\\ after a trusted directory prefix passes the check while resolving to an untrusted location. The CVE-2026-48800 patch adds isInTrustedDirectory() validation in Command::run() (RunDlg.cpp) before calling ShellExecute(). This function checks whether the resolved executable path is under a trusted directory.  This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.2."
        }
      ],
      "metrics": [
        {
          "cvssV3_1": {
            "attackComplexity": "LOW",
            "attackVector": "LOCAL",
            "availabilityImpact": "HIGH",
            "baseScore": 7.8,
            "baseSeverity": "HIGH",
            "confidentialityImpact": "HIGH",
            "integrityImpact": "HIGH",
            "privilegesRequired": "NONE",
            "scope": "UNCHANGED",
            "userInteraction": "REQUIRED",
            "vectorString": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
            "version": "3.1"
          }
        }
      ],
      "problemTypes": [
        {
          "descriptions": [
            {
              "cweId": "CWE-42",
              "description": "CWE-42: Path Equivalence: \u0027filename.\u0027 (Trailing Dot)",
              "lang": "en",
              "type": "CWE"
            }
          ]
        }
      ],
      "providerMetadata": {
        "dateUpdated": "2026-06-26T20:11:40.227Z",
        "orgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
        "shortName": "GitHub_M"
      },
      "references": [
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-p58x-r3c9-x9p6",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_CONFIRM"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/security/advisories/GHSA-p58x-r3c9-x9p6"
        },
        {
          "name": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/ea1508855e9c4528f6198ce9d345f13cb759ebf4",
          "tags": [
            "x_refsource_MISC"
          ],
          "url": "https://github.com/notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus/commit/ea1508855e9c4528f6198ce9d345f13cb759ebf4"
        }
      ],
      "source": {
        "advisory": "GHSA-p58x-r3c9-x9p6",
        "discovery": "UNKNOWN"
      },
      "title": "Notepad++: CVE-2026-48800 Bypass"
    }
  },
  "cveMetadata": {
    "assignerOrgId": "a0819718-46f1-4df5-94e2-005712e83aaa",
    "assignerShortName": "GitHub_M",
    "cveId": "CVE-2026-52884",
    "datePublished": "2026-06-26T20:11:40.227Z",
    "dateReserved": "2026-06-08T21:44:27.365Z",
    "dateUpdated": "2026-06-26T20:11:40.227Z",
    "state": "PUBLISHED"
  },
  "dataType": "CVE_RECORD",
  "dataVersion": "5.2"
}

No mitigation information available for this CWE.

No CAPEC attack patterns related to this CWE.

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