CVE-2026-20841

HIGHNVD 7.88.8▲
EchelonGraph scoreMEDIUM confidence

Score 8.8 from GitHub Security Advisory (severity: HIGH) published 2026-02-10. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8; sources differ by 1.0.

Triggered by: GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
Sources: epss, ghsa, nvd
Elevated
8.8EG
EchelonGraph verdictPlan a fixSerious severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet.
  • High severity, but no confirmed exploitation yet
CISA-KEV: Not listedEPSS PROB: 12%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: Elevated riskExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

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

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
8.8(medium)
EG Risk
56(Track)
EG Risk 56/100SSVC: Track

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
Severity88% × 45%
Exploitation40% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Routine — remediate on your standard cadence.
EPSS PROB
12%
EPSS %ILE
96%
KEV
Not listed

Published

February 10, 2026

Last Modified

August 19, 2026

Advisory Details (2)

Auto-updated Jun 10, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: microsoft.
generic🔴 Active Exploitation

Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability | Hacker News

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46971516
microsoft Patch Available

Security Update Guide - Microsoft Security Response Center

Security Update Guide - Microsoft Security Response Center. Patch available via Microsoft Security Update

https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2026-20841

Weakness Classification(1)

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

All Vendor Advisories

(1)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 3× in last 7d / 20× 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 165 total refreshes for this CVE.

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

Publicly available exploits

(7 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (7 GitHub PoCs). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • GitHub PoCatiilla/CVE-2026-20841
    First seen Feb 12, 2026
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCpatchpoint/CVE-2026-20841
    First seen Feb 12, 2026
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCuky007/CVE-2026-20841_notepad_analysis
    First seen Feb 12, 2026
    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCdogukankurnaz/CVE-2026-20841-PoC
    First seen Feb 12, 2026

    CVE-2026-20841

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCBTtea/CVE-2026-20841-PoC
    First seen Feb 11, 2026

    PoC

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCtangent65536/CVE-2026-20841
    First seen Feb 11, 2026

    PoC for the "Windows Notepad RCE"

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoChamzamalik3461/CVE-2026-20841
    First seen Sep 22, 2024

    🛠 Demonstrate remote code execution in Windows Notepad via markdown links exploiting unsecured URL protocols.

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(5)

What is CVE-2026-20841?
CVE-2026-20841 is a high vulnerability published on February 10, 2026. Improper neutralization of special elements used in a command ('command injection') in Windows Notepad App allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code locally.
When was CVE-2026-20841 disclosed?
CVE-2026-20841 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on February 10, 2026, with the most recent update on August 19, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2026-20841 actively exploited?
CVE-2026-20841 is not currently on CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. FIRST EPSS estimates a 12% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, which ranks it in the top 4.1% of all scored CVEs.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-20841?
CVE-2026-20841 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 8.8.
How do I remediate CVE-2026-20841?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2026-20841, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

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