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Microsoft

CVE-2026-20841

high

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

7.8
cvss high
common vulnerability scoring system v3.1. measures intrinsic severity on a 0-10 scale.
epss 0.0014
exploitation prediction scoring system. probability this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild in the next 30 days.
kev no
cisa known exploited vulnerabilities catalog. confirmed active exploitation.
CVSS 3.1 Common Vulnerability Scoring System v3.1
7.8 / 10
HIGH
exploitability
Attack Vector
Local
Attack Vector (AV:L): requires local access. attacker must have shell access or physical login.
Attack Complexity
Low
Attack Complexity (AC:L): no special conditions needed. attack can be reliably reproduced.
Privileges Required
None
Privileges Required (PR:N): no authentication needed. any anonymous attacker can exploit this.
User Interaction
Required
User Interaction (UI:R): victim must perform some action (e.g. clicking a link, opening a file).
impact
Scope
Unchanged
Scope (S:U): impact limited to the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality
High
Confidentiality (C:H): total information disclosure. attacker gains access to all data within the component.
Integrity
High
Integrity (I:H): complete data modification possible. attacker can modify any data.
Availability
High
Availability (A:H): total denial of service. attacker can fully shut down the resource.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:O/RC:C
exploit detect attrib advisory media timeline
activity density
rdintel assessment
flagged malicious repos detected. do not execute.
public exploit available. prioritize patching.
detection rules available.
43 threat composite score from 15+ signals including exploitation status, epss probability, detection coverage, and community attention. 0-100 scale.

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