CVE-2026-2538
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedA security flaw has been discovered in Flos Freeware Notepad2 4.2.22/4.2.23/4.2.24/4.2.25. Affected is an unknown function in the library Msimg32.dll. Performing a manipulation results in uncontrolled search path. Attacking locally is a requirement. The attack's complexity is rated as high. The exploitability is told to be difficult. The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · moderate confidenceLocal DLL search order hijacking vulnerability in Flos Freeware Notepad2 versions 4.2.22 through 4.2.25. The application loads Msimg32.dll from an uncontrolled search path, potentially allowing a local attacker to place a malicious DLL in a location where the application will load it, leading to arbitrary code execution.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Identify installed Notepad2 versionLocate the Notepad2 executable (typically in Program Files or a local application folder), then check its version through File Properties (right-click > Properties > Details) or by running: powershell (Get-Item 'C:\path\to\Notepad2.exe').VersionInfoAffected if The reported FileVersion falls within the range 4.2.22 through 4.2.25 inclusive
-
Verify the application loads Msimg32.dllRun Notepad2 while monitoring DLL loads using Process Monitor (filter by Process Name = Notepad2 and Path contains Msimg32) or use: dumpbin /dependents Notepad2.exe (if available) to list dependenciesAffected if The application attempts to load Msimg32.dll from a directory outside the system Windows\System32 folder
-
Check DLL search path vulnerabilityOpen Command Prompt and run: reg query 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Session Manager\SafeDLLSearchMode' to verify if Safe DLL Search Mode is enabled (value should be 1)Affected if SafeDLLSearchMode is set to 0 or the application runs from a directory writable by other users (such as a shared network folder or user-writable location)
-
Inspect current working directory at launchOpen Task Manager, right-click Notepad2 process, select 'Open file location', and note the path. Then check if this directory is in a location with weak permissions (such as %USERPROFILE%\Downloads or a shared folder)Affected if Notepad2 is launched from or typically runs out of a directory where an unprivileged local user could place a malicious Msimg32.dll file
You are affected if Notepad2 version is 4.2.22 through 4.2.25 and the application loads Msimg32.dll from a location where an attacker could plant a malicious DLL (current directory or user-writable location with Safe DLL Search Mode disabled).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataImplement secure DLL loading by using absolute paths or explicitly specifying DLL locations; enable Safe DLL Search Mode; verify DLL signatures before loading; consider application whitelisting to mitigate DLL planting attacks until vendor provides official fix.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2026-2538 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2026-2538 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data