A stack-based buffer overflow vulnerability exists in Notepad++ version 8.9.3 in the file drop handler component. When a user drags and drops a directory path of exactly 259 characters without a trailing backslash, the application appends a backslash and null terminator without proper bounds checking, resulting in a stack buffer overflow and application crash (STATUS_STACK_BUFFER_OVERRUN).

SciLexer.dll in Scintilla in Notepad++ (x64) before 7.7 allows remote code execution or denial of service via Unicode characters in a crafted .ml file.

Notepad++ versions 8.4.1 and before are vulnerable to DLL hijacking where an attacker can replace the vulnerable dll (UxTheme.dll) with his own dll and run arbitrary code in the context of Notepad++.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. In v8.9.6.1, isInTrustedDirectory() does NOT canonicalize the path before checking. It uses a prefix-based check (PathIsPrefix() or equivalent) that matches paths starting with trusted directory strings. A path traversal using ..\..\ after a trusted directory prefix passes the check while resolving to an untrusted location. The CVE-2026-48800 patch adds isInTrustedDirectory() validation in Command::run() (RunDlg.cpp) before calling ShellExecute(). This function checks whether the resolved executable path is under a trusted directory. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.2.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.4, NppCommands.cpp checks the HMAC of the on-disk shortcuts.xml at the moment a user command fires (Time-of-Check). However, the command payload is taken from the in-memory _userCommands vector, which is populated at application startup and never re-synchronized with the on-disk file (Time-of-Use). Swapping shortcuts.xml between startup and command execution causes the HMAC check to validate a clean file while a malicious command runs. An attacker with write access to shortcuts.xml places a malicious version on disk before launch, then immediately restores the legitimate file. The HMAC check at execution time validates the restored legitimate file (check passes), while the malicious payload executes from memory. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.4.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.1, the <GUIConfig name="commandLineInterpreter"> tag in config.xml is read by NppXml::value() (Parameters.cpp:6430) and stored in _nppGUI._commandLineInterpreter without any validation, whitelist, or digital signature check. When the user triggers IDM_FILE_OPEN_CMD (File → Open Containing Folder → cmd), NppCommands.cpp:228 creates a Command object with this value and calls run(), which invokes ShellExecute (RunDlg.cpp:221) with the attacker-controlled string as the executable path. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.1.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Prior to 8.9.6.1, the <Command> tag text content inside <UserDefinedCommands> in shortcuts.xml is read by NppXml::value(aNode) (Parameters.cpp:3658) in the feedUserCmds() function and stored in UserCommand._cmd without any validation. When the user clicks the corresponding entry in the Run menu, NppCommands.cpp:4264 creates a Command object with string2wstring(ucmd.getCmd()) and calls run(), which invokes ShellExecute (RunDlg.cpp:221) with the attacker-controlled string as the executable path. The injected command appears as a normal menu item in the Run menu, making it a viable persistence mechanism. This vulnerability is fixed in 8.9.6.1.

Notepad++ 7.3.3 (32-bit) with Hex Editor Plugin v0.9.5 might allow user-assisted attackers to execute code via a crafted file, because of a "Data from Faulting Address controls Code Flow" issue. One threat model is a victim who obtains an untrusted crafted file from a remote location and issues several user-defined commands.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. Versions 8.5.6 and prior are vulnerable to heap buffer write overflow in `Utf8_16_Read::convert`. This issue may lead to arbitrary code execution. As of time of publication, no known patches are available in existing versions of Notepad++.

Notepad++ is a free and open-source source code editor. An Unsafe Search Path vulnerability (CWE-426) exists in versions prior to 8.9.2 when launching Windows Explorer without an absolute executable path. This may allow execution of a malicious explorer.exe if an attacker can control the process working directory. Under certain conditions, this could lead to arbitrary code execution in the context of the running application. Version 8.9.2 patches the issue.

An Untrusted Search Path vulnerability in EPSecurityService.exe as used in Bitdefender Endpoint Security Tools versions prior to 6.6.11.163 allows an attacker to load an arbitrary DLL file from the search path. This issue affects: Bitdefender EPSecurityService.exe versions prior to 6.6.11.163.

Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A vulnerability was found in Viscosity 1.6.7. It has been classified as critical. This affects an unknown part of the component DLL Handler. The manipulation leads to untrusted search path. It is possible to initiate the attack remotely. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. Upgrading to version 1.6.8 is able to address this issue. It is recommended to upgrade the affected component.

A Code Execution Vulnerability exists in UMPlayer 0.98 in wintab32.dll due to insufficient path restrictions when loading external libraries. which could let a malicious user execute arbitrary code.

Git GUI is a convenient graphical tool that comes with Git for Windows. Its target audience is users who are uncomfortable with using Git on the command-line. Git GUI has a function to clone repositories. Immediately after the local clone is available, Git GUI will automatically post-process it, among other things running a spell checker called `aspell.exe` if it was found. Git GUI is implemented as a Tcl/Tk script. Due to the unfortunate design of Tcl on Windows, the search path when looking for an executable _always includes the current directory_. Therefore, malicious repositories can ship with an `aspell.exe` in their top-level directory which is executed by Git GUI without giving the user a chance to inspect it first, i.e. running untrusted code. This issue has been addressed in version 2.39.1. Users are advised to upgrade. Users unable to upgrade should avoid using Git GUI for cloning. If that is not a viable option, at least avoid cloning from untrusted sources.

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installer of PhishWall Client Internet Explorer version Ver. 3.7.13 and earlier allows remote attackers to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.

An uncontrolled DLL loading path vulnerability exists in AsusSoftwareManagerAgent. A local attacker may influence the application to load a DLL from an attacker-controlled location, potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution. Refer to the ' Security Update for MyASUS' section on the ASUS Security Advisory for more information.

An untrusted search path in AMD Radeon settings Installer may lead to a privilege escalation or unauthorized code execution.

Untrusted search path vulnerability in VBE6.dll in Microsoft Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP2 and SP3, and 2010 Gold and SP1; Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA); and Summit Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications SDK allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in the current working directory, as demonstrated by a directory that contains a .docx file, aka "Visual Basic for Applications Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in July 2012.

OpenClaw before 2026.5.27 contains an arbitrary code execution vulnerability in skill install flows where workspace .env files can override the Homebrew executable selection. Attackers with access to trusted operator workspaces can execute unintended Homebrew-compatible executables during skill setup to compromise the system.

A dynamic library loading issue existed in iTunes setup. This was addressed with improved path searching. This issue is fixed in macOS Catalina 10.15.1, iTunes for Windows 12.10.2. Running the iTunes installer in an untrusted directory may result in arbitrary code execution.

Yandex Browser for Desktop before 24.7.1.380 has a DLL Hijacking Vulnerability because an untrusted search path is used.

Substance3D - Painter versions 10.1.0 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that might allow attackers to execute arbitrary code. If the application uses a search path to locate critical resources such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. The problem extends to any type of critical resource that the application trusts. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the Microsoft Foundation Class (MFC) Library in Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003 SP1; Visual Studio 2005 SP1, 2008 SP1, and 2010; Visual C++ 2005 SP1, 2008 SP1, and 2010; and Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 3, 2013, and 2013 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse dwmapi.dll file in the current working directory during execution of an MFC application such as AtlTraceTool8.exe (aka ATL MFC Trace Tool), as demonstrated by a directory that contains a TRC, cur, rs, rct, or res file, aka "MFC Insecure Library Loading Vulnerability."

Microsoft.SqlServer.XEvent.Configuration.dll Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Adobe Framemaker versions 2020.6, 2022.4 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary code execution. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by inserting a malicious path into the search directories, which the application could unknowingly execute. This could allow the attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction.

On Windows, if Git LFS operates on a malicious repository with a `..exe` file as well as a file named `git.exe`, and `git.exe` is not found in `PATH`, the `..exe` program will be executed, permitting the attacker to execute arbitrary code. This does not affect Unix systems. Similarly, if the malicious repository contains files named `..exe` and `cygpath.exe`, and `cygpath.exe` is not found in `PATH`, the `..exe` program will be executed when certain Git LFS commands are run. More generally, if the current working directory contains any file with a base name of `.` and a file extension from `PATHEXT` (except `.bat` and `.cmd`), and also contains another file with the same base name as a program Git LFS intends to execute (such as `git`, `cygpath`, or `uname`) and any file extension from `PATHEXT` (including `.bat` and `.cmd`), then, on Windows, when Git LFS attempts to execute the intended program the `..exe`, `..com`, etc., file will be executed instead, but only if the intended program is not found in any directory listed in `PATH`. The vulnerability occurs because when Git LFS detects that the program it intends to run does not exist in any directory listed in `PATH` then Git LFS passes an empty string as the executable file path to the Go `os/exec` package, which contains a bug such that, on Windows, it prepends the name of the current working directory (i.e., `.`) to the empty string without adding a path separator, and as a result searches in that directory for a file with the base name `.` combined with any file extension from `PATHEXT`, executing the first one it finds. (The reason `..bat` and `..cmd` files are not executed in the same manner is that, although the Go `os/exec` package tries to execute them just as it does a `..exe` file, the Microsoft Win32 API `CreateProcess()` family of functions have an undocumented feature in that they apparently recognize when a caller is attempting to execute a batch script file and instead run the `cmd.exe` command interpreter, passing the full set of command line arguments as parameters. These are unchanged from the command line arguments set by Git LFS, and as such, the intended program's name is the first, resulting in a command line like `cmd.exe /c git`, which then fails.) Git LFS has resolved this vulnerability by always reporting an error when a program is not found in any directory listed in `PATH` rather than passing an empty string to the Go `os/exec` package in this case. The bug in the Go `os/exec` package has been reported to the Go project and is expected to be patched after this security advisory is published. The problem was introduced in version 2.12.1 and is patched in version 3.1.3. Users of affected versions should upgrade to version 3.1.3. There are currently no known workarounds at this time.

mDNSResponder.exe is vulnerable to DLL Sideloading attack. Executable improperly specifies how to load the DLL, from which folder and under what conditions. In these scenarios, a malicious attacker could be using the valid and legitimate executable to load malicious files.

Microsoft Office Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Dimension versions 3.4.11 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that could lead to arbitrary code execution. An attacker could exploit this vulnerability by inserting a malicious file into the search path, which the application might execute instead of the legitimate file. This could occur if the application uses a search path to locate executables or libraries. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction.

A untrusted search path in Fortinet FortiClientWindows versions 7.4.0, versions 7.2.4 through 7.2.0, versions 7.0.12 through 7.0.0 allows an attacker to run arbitrary code via DLL hijacking and social engineering.

Microsoft SharePoint Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

WiX toolset lets developers create installers for Windows Installer, the Windows installation engine. The .be TEMP folder is vulnerable to DLL redirection attacks that allow the attacker to escalate privileges. This impacts any installer built with the WiX installer framework. This issue has been patched in version 4.0.4.

GitPython is a python library used to interact with Git repositories. There is an incomplete fix for CVE-2023-40590. On Windows, GitPython uses an untrusted search path if it uses a shell to run `git`, as well as when it runs `bash.exe` to interpret hooks. If either of those features are used on Windows, a malicious `git.exe` or `bash.exe` may be run from an untrusted repository. This issue has been patched in version 3.1.41.

An issue was discovered in Foxit PhantomPDF before 8.3.6. It has an untrusted search path that allows a DLL to execute remote code.

Lightroom Desktop versions 7.1.2 and earlier are affected by an Untrusted Search Path vulnerability that could result in arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user. If the application uses a search path to locate critical resources such as programs, then an attacker could modify that search path to point to a malicious program, which the targeted application would then execute. Exploitation of this issue requires user interaction in that a victim must open a malicious file.

Microsoft Printer Metadata Troubleshooter Tool Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

A maliciously crafted DLL file, when placed in the same directory as an RVT file could be loaded by Autodesk Revit, and execute arbitrary code in the context of the current process due to an untrusted search patch being utilized.

Yandex Telemost for Desktop before 2.7.0 has a DLL Hijacking Vulnerability because an untrusted search path is used.

DLL Search Order Hijacking vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Client in McAfee True Key (TK) before 5.1.165 allows local users to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted malware.

DLL Side-Loading vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Client in McAfee True Key before 4.20.110 allows local users to gain privilege elevation via not verifying a particular DLL file signature.

A untrusted search path vulnerability in Fortinet FortiClientWindows 7.0.9 allows an attacker to perform a DLL Hijack attack via a malicious OpenSSL engine library in the search path.

GitPython is a python library used to interact with Git repositories. When resolving a program, Python/Windows look for the current working directory, and after that the PATH environment. GitPython defaults to use the `git` command, if a user runs GitPython from a repo has a `git.exe` or `git` executable, that program will be run instead of the one in the user's `PATH`. This is more of a problem on how Python interacts with Windows systems, Linux and any other OS aren't affected by this. But probably people using GitPython usually run it from the CWD of a repo. An attacker can trick a user to download a repository with a malicious `git` executable, if the user runs/imports GitPython from that directory, it allows the attacker to run any arbitrary commands. There is no fix currently available for windows users, however there are a few mitigations. 1: Default to an absolute path for the git program on Windows, like `C:\\Program Files\\Git\\cmd\\git.EXE` (default git path installation). 2: Require users to set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` environment variable on Windows systems. 3: Make this problem prominent in the documentation and advise users to never run GitPython from an untrusted repo, or set the `GIT_PYTHON_GIT_EXECUTABLE` env var to an absolute path. 4: Resolve the executable manually by only looking into the `PATH` environment variable.

Tablet Windows User Interface Application Core Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Windows Geolocation Service Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

An Untrusted Search Path vulnerability in Malwarebytes AdwCleaner 8.0.3 could cause arbitrary code execution with SYSTEM privileges when a malicious DLL library is loaded.

PraisonAI is a multi-agent teams system. Prior to 4.5.128, PraisonAI automatically loads a file named tools.py from the current working directory to discover and register custom agent tools. This loading process uses importlib.util.spec_from_file_location and immediately executes module-level code via spec.loader.exec_module() without explicit user consent, validation, or sandboxing. The tools.py file is loaded implicitly, even when it is not referenced in configuration files or explicitly requested by the user. As a result, merely placing a file named tools.py in the working directory is sufficient to trigger code execution. This behavior violates the expected security boundary between user-controlled project files (e.g., YAML configurations) and executable code, as untrusted content in the working directory is treated as trusted and executed automatically. If an attacker can place a malicious tools.py file into a directory where a user or automated system (e.g., CI/CD pipeline) runs praisonai, arbitrary code execution occurs immediately upon startup, before any agent logic begins. This vulnerability is fixed in 4.5.128.

The application's installer runs with elevated privileges but resolves system executables and DLLs using untrusted search paths that can include user-writable directories, allowing a local attacker to place malicious binaries with the same names and have them loaded or executed instead of the legitimate system files, resulting in local privilege escalation.

Opera before 57.0.3098.106 is vulnerable to a DLL Search Order hijacking attack where an attacker can send a ZIP archive composed of an HTML page along with a malicious DLL to the target. Once the document is opened, it may allow the attacker to take full control of the system from any location within the system. The issue lies in the loading of the shcore.dll and dcomp.dll files: these files are being searched for by the program in the same system-wide directory where the HTML file is executed.

A DLL hijacking vulnerability in Trend Micro Security 2019 (Consumer) versions below 15.0.0.1163 and below could allow an attacker to manipulate a specific DLL and escalate privileges on vulnerable installations.