VDB-345252 · CVE-2026-20841 · WID-SEC-2026-0365

Microsoft Notepad App command injection

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.0	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as critical has been identified in Microsoft Notepad App. The affected element is an unknown function. The manipulation results in command injection. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2026-20841. The attack can be launched remotely. No exploit exists. It is advisable to implement a patch to correct this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, was found in Microsoft Notepad App (unknown version). Affected is an unknown code block. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a command injection vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-77. The product constructs all or part of a command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended command when it is sent to a downstream component. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Windows Notepad App allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.

The weakness was disclosed 02/10/2026 as confirmed security update guide (Website). The advisory is shared for download at msrc.microsoft.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2026-20841. The exploitability is told to be easy. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. There are neither technical details nor an exploit publicly available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 02/26/2026). The MITRE ATT&CK project declares the attack technique as T1202.

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the vulnerability database at CERT Bund (WID-SEC-2026-0365). Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Affected

Microsoft Windows

Productinfo

Vendor

Microsoft

Name

Notepad App

License

commercial

Website

Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.6
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.0

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 5.5
VulDB Vector: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Vendor Base Score (Microsoft): 8.8
Vendor Vector (Microsoft): 🔒

CNA Base Score: 7.8
CNA Vector (Microsoft): 🔒

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳
💳	💳	💳	💳	💳	💳

Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

VulDB Base Score: 🔒
VulDB Temp Score: 🔒
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Command injection
CWE: CWE-77 / CWE-74 / CWE-707
CAPEC: 🔒
ATT&CK: 🔒

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔒
Status: Unproven

EPSS Score: 🔒
EPSS Percentile: 🔒

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔒

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔒
0-Day Time: 🔒
Exposure Time: 🔒

Timelineinfo

02/10/2026 VulDB entry created
02/10/2026 +0 days Advisory disclosed
02/10/2026 +0 days Countermeasure disclosed
02/26/2026 +16 days VulDB entry last update