CVE-2026-38972

HIGHPre-NVD 7.87.8—
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 7.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2026-07-02. CISA-ADP (Vulnrichment) CVSS v3.1 baseline 7.8; sources differ by 0.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: cisa-adp, epss, ghsa
Elevated
7.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 0.2%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: Elevated riskExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is available — apply it.

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 v3
7.8
EG Score
7.8HIGHmedium confidence
EG Risk
51
EG Risk 51/100

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity78% × 45%
Exploitation40% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
EPSS PROB
0.2%
EPSS %ILE
7th
KEV
Not listed

Published

July 2, 2026

Last Modified

July 8, 2026

Advisory Details (3)

Auto-updated Jul 6, 2026
Patch available. Sources: github_pr.
generic

GitHub - rizonesoft/Notepad3: Notepad like text editor based on the Scintilla source code. Notepad3 based on code from Notepad2 and MiniPath on code from metapath. Download Notepad3: · GitHub

https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3
generic

[BUG] Notepad3 loads attacker-controlled MSFTEDIT.DLL from the application directory via the About dialog · Issue #5605 · rizonesoft/Notepad3 · GitHub

https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/issues/5605
github_pr Patch Available

chg: crtl+c / rmb-copy for line (empty selection) and hyperlinks

Patch available: rizonesoft/Notepad3 RELEASE_7.26.426.1 (PR #5606 merged 2026-03-23)

https://github.com/rizonesoft/Notepad3/pull/5606

Vendor Advisories for CVE-2026-38972(1)

These vendors published their own advisory mentioning this CVE — often with vendor-specific remediation steps + affected product lists not in NVD.

Weakness Classification(1)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 7× in last 7d / 35× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 219 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-10-10 20:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  2. 2026-10-09 20:07 UTCEPSS rescore
  3. 2026-10-08 17:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-10-07 23:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  5. 2026-10-06 15:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  6. 2026-10-05 17:43 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-10-04 23:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  8. 2026-10-03 14:25 UTCEPSS rescore
  9. 2026-10-01 19:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-30 15:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-28 13:51 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-09-27 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-26 15:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-26 00:26 UTCEPSS rescore
  15. 2026-09-23 06:37 UTCEG score recompute
  16. 2026-09-23 06:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-20 20:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  19. 2026-09-18 19:28 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-09-18 06:14 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-09-18 06:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-17 19:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-09-16 14:08 UTCEPSS rescore
  24. 2026-09-16 05:15 UTCEPSS rescore
  25. 2026-09-15 03:11 UTCEPSS rescore
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-09-14 00:14 UTCEG score recompute
  2. 2026-09-14 00:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-13 16:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  4. 2026-09-13 08:58 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-09-13 08:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-09-12 15:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-09-12 14:14 UTCEG score recompute
  8. 2026-09-12 14:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-11 14:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  10. 2026-09-11 09:37 UTCEPSS rescore
  11. 2026-09-10 09:34 UTCEPSS rescore
  12. 2026-09-08 22:00 UTCEPSS rescore
  13. 2026-09-07 16:01 UTCEPSS rescore
  14. 2026-09-06 14:19 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-09-06 14:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-09-06 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  17. 2026-09-05 23:51 UTCEG score recompute
  18. 2026-09-05 23:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-04 05:06 UTCEPSS rescore
  20. 2026-09-02 14:12 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-09-01 13:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-09-01 04:39 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-08-30 23:59 UTCEG score recompute
  24. 2026-08-30 23:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-08-30 19:17 UTCEPSS rescore
  26. 2026-08-30 11:21 UTCEG score recompute
  27. 2026-08-30 11:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-08-30 01:22 UTCEPSS rescore
  29. 2026-08-28 21:41 UTCEPSS rescore
  30. 2026-08-27 22:13 UTCEG score recompute
  31. 2026-08-27 22:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-08-26 14:46 UTCEPSS rescore
  33. 2026-08-25 13:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  34. 2026-08-25 13:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-08-24 22:53 UTCEG score recompute
  36. 2026-08-24 22:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-08-24 10:15 UTCEG score recompute
  38. 2026-08-24 10:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-08-23 20:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-08-23 07:53 UTCEG score recompute
  41. 2026-08-23 07:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-08-23 00:19 UTCEPSS rescore
  43. 2026-08-22 19:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-08-22 06:33 UTCEG score recompute
  45. 2026-08-22 06:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-08-21 23:49 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-08-21 18:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-08-21 05:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-08-20 16:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-08-20 03:59 UTCEG score recompute
  51. 2026-08-20 03:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-08-19 17:03 UTCEPSS rescore
  53. 2026-08-19 12:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-08-19 00:20 UTCEG score recompute
  55. 2026-08-19 00:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-08-18 13:48 UTCEPSS rescore
  57. 2026-08-18 11:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-08-17 22:50 UTCEG score recompute
  59. 2026-08-17 22:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-08-17 13:47 UTCEPSS rescore
  61. 2026-08-17 08:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-08-16 19:43 UTCEG score recompute
  63. 2026-08-16 19:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-08-16 14:56 UTCEPSS rescore
  65. 2026-08-16 06:33 UTCEG score recompute
  66. 2026-08-16 06:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-08-16 02:14 UTCEPSS rescore
  68. 2026-08-15 18:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-08-15 05:28 UTCEG score recompute
  70. 2026-08-15 05:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-08-15 01:30 UTCEPSS rescore
  72. 2026-08-14 16:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-08-14 04:20 UTCEG score recompute
  74. 2026-08-14 04:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-08-13 22:00 UTCEPSS rescore

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-38972?
CVE-2026-38972 is a high vulnerability published on July 2, 2026. 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…
When was CVE-2026-38972 disclosed?
CVE-2026-38972 was first published on July 2, 2026, with the most recent update on July 8, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-38972 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-38972 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 0.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days (7th percentile of EPSS-scored CVEs).
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-38972?
CVE-2026-38972 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (CISA-ADP / Vulnrichment enrichment; NVD's own analysis pending).
How do I remediate CVE-2026-38972?
A fix for CVE-2026-38972 is available: update to the fixed version the vendor names in its advisory. The vendor advisories EchelonGraph has for CVE-2026-38972 are linked in the Vendor Advisories panel on this page.

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