Cyber Resilience

CVE-2023-6401

Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+ ≤ 8.1

Published
30 November 2023
Modified
21 November 2024
CVSS Score v3.1 5.3
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:L/A:L
EPSS Score 0.0033 26th percentile
Risk Priority 35 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2023-6401 is a medium-severity Uncontrolled Search Path Element (CWE-427) vulnerability in Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+. Its CVSS base score is 5.3 (Medium).

Operationally, ranked at the 26th percentile by exploit likelihood (below the median); it is not currently listed in the CISA KEV catalog.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

A08:2025 Software or Data Integrity Failures

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

A vulnerability classified as problematic was found in NotePad++ up to 8.1. Affected by this vulnerability is an unknown functionality of the file dbghelp.exe. The manipulation leads to uncontrolled search path. An attack has to be approached locally. The identifier…

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VDB-246421 was assigned to this vulnerability. NOTE: The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

CWE(s)
CWE-427

Related Threats

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2023-47452Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2023-40036Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-52885Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-48778Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-6539Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-46710Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2025-15556Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-48770Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2026-5525Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+
CVE-2023-40166Same product: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+

Affected Assets

notepad-plus-plus
notepad\+\+
≤ 8.1

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

—

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

—

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 2 hardening rules · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

—

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure-development practices directly address design of search paths and resource loading.

PR.PS-01 partial match
prevents

Hardened configuration baselines can enforce safe search-path settings and reduce exposure.

PR.PS-05 partial match
prevents

Execution allow-listing can block malicious binaries placed in hijackable search locations.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

A.8.29 Security testing in development and acceptance mostly match
detects

Security testing can detect uncontrolled search-path issues but does not prevent them by itself.

A.8.19 Installation of software on operational systems partial match
mitigates

Restricting software installation reduces the chance that an attacker-controlled path element is introduced into the search path.

A.8.27 Secure system architecture and engineering principles partial match
mitigates

Secure system architecture and engineering principles require explicit control over search paths and resource locations.

A.8.28 Secure coding partial match
prevents

Secure coding practices directly address the use of fixed or controlled search paths that can be influenced by unintended actors.

A.8.9 Configuration management partial match
prevents

Configuration management can enforce approved search-path settings but does not inherently prevent the weakness.

References