# CVE-2023-47452: Privilege escalation in n/a

> Local attackers can escalate privileges by placing a malicious DLL in the current working directory, affecting Notepad++ users.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 30 Nov 2023
- **Updated:** 2 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v5gj-gr4g-9rmq

## What is CVE-2023-47452?

CVE-2023-47452 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

An Untrusted search path vulnerability in notepad++ 6.5 allows local users to gain escalated privileges through the msimg32.dll file in the current working directory.

Weakness: CWE-427 (Uncontrolled Search Path Element)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2023-47452?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Notepad-Plus-Plus Notepad\+\+.

## How do I fix CVE-2023-47452?

No fix has been published for CVE-2023-47452 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2023-47452 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-47452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2025-15556](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-15556/): Notepad++ Download of Code Without Integrity Check (high 7.7, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2026-48778](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48778/): Notepad++: Arbitrary Code Execution via config.xml commandLineInterpreter (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-48800](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-48800/): Notepad++: Arbitrary Code Execution via shortcuts.xml UserCommand Injection (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2026-52884](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2026-52884/): Notepad++: CVE-2026-48800 Bypass (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2023-40031](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-40031/): Notepad++ vulnerable to heap buffer write overflow in Utf8_16_Read::convert (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2023-47452 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2023-47452 is a high-severity vulnerability in n/a, published on 30 Nov 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2023-47452 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47452/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47452/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-47452
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-47452
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2023-47452

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2023-47452/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.