Medium · CVSS 5.1CVE-2026-52886

Notepad++: session.xml backupFilePath starts_with Bypass

Answer in brief

CVE-2026-52886 records a Medium severity (CVSS 5.1) vulnerability in Notepad++: session.xml backupFilePath starts_with Bypass. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. The current feed maps notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Analysis pending evidence review

HOL Guard separates source facts from reviewed analysis. See the methodology.

Published Aug 17, 2026Updated Sep 9, 2026Source checked Oct 1, 2026First seen by HOL Aug 17, 2026Material review Sep 9, 2026

Upstream Advisory

Key facts

Risk: Medium · CVSS 5.1
Exploitation: Not marked as known exploited
Affected software: 1 mapped package or product
Fix availability: Available

Why this deserves its current priority

CVSS is 5.1. The current sources do not mark it as known exploited. Treat this as a source-backed prioritization signal, not a statement about your environment.

Analysis status

Analysis pending evidence review

Factual feed record only; HOL analysis is not approved for indexing. Read the methodology.

Affected scope and exposure questions

The current feed maps notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus (generic). Check affected ranges and fixed versions before updating.

Mapped affected packages and fixed versions
Package	Affected range	Fixed version
notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plusgeneric	<8.9.7	8.9.7

Recommended response

Check inventory. Check lockfiles and deployed manifests for notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus.
Review the reported fix. Update notepad-plus-plus/notepad-plus-plus to 8.9.7 if you use the affected versions. Test the change in a non-production environment first.

Evidence timeline and material changes

Published upstream
Aug 17, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
Source modified
Sep 9, 2026
Evidence: source:cvelist:source_dates:source-dates:record
First seen by HOL
Aug 17, 2026

Sources and claim methodology

Upstream source description

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.7, Notepad++ validates the backupFilePath attribute from session.xml with std::wstring::starts_with against the expected backup directory without path normalization, allowing parent-directory sequences during snapshot-mode restoration to read an arbitrary user-readable file outside the backup directory into an editor tab. This issue is fixed in version 8.9.7.

Quoted source text, attributed separately from HOL analysis.