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Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#91

Post by Lex-2008 »

jakub_g wrote: post #68
mdavid626 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I extracted out notepad.exe, calc.exe and mspaint.exe from Windows 7. I use them on Windows 11. They work perfectly.

For those of you on macOS who still want to benefit from arguably the best drawing application ever conceived, https://jspaint.app/ is THE way. Use it all the time when editing screenshots. Bonus point: that Windows 95 style "error" beep when pasting too large image. Always sends the shiver down the spine and confuses the coworkers around (we're an all-Mac shop).

my favorite "easter egg" hidden behind File -> Exit menu item of jspaint.app... I still remember how it blew my mind the first time I saw it!

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#92

Post by ankurdhama »

hdgvhicv wrote: post #47

So notepad now renders links, then when clicks execute the code on those links (not just loading a website in a browser for example)?

My assumption here is that if the link is web link it will open that link in web browser but Windows (and other OSes) have custom URL handlers that open whatever app is registered for that URL and that app may have issues that causes it to download and run arbitrary code.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#93

Post by g947o »

weinzierl wrote: post #59
Fiveplus wrote: post #14

We have officially reached the logical conclusion of the feature-bloat-to-vulnerability pipeline. For nearly thirty years, notepad.exe was the gold standard for a "dumb" utility which was a simple, win32-backed buffer for strings that did exactly one thing...display text. An 8.8 CVSS on a utility meant for viewing data is a fundamental failure of the principle of least privilege. At some point, they need to stop aski…

"For nearly thirty years, notepad.exe was the gold standard for a "dumb" utility which was a simple, win32-backed buffer for strings that did exactly one thing...display text." Well, except that this did not prevent it from having embarrassing bugs. Google "Bush hid the facts" for an example. I'm serious, you won't be disappointed. I think complexity is relative. At the time of the "Bush hid the facts" bug, nailing d…

I am pretty sure it's possible to fix that entire category of bugs without introducing RCE vulnerabilities.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#94

Post by dgxyz »

muragekibicho wrote: post #64
dgxyz wrote: post #25

Seems whatever they do they step in shit. They should stop doing stuff. They spent the last few years entirely compromising their products rather than improving them.

Exactly my predicament. My laptop reached EOL but I'm struggling to purchase a new one. They're all bundled with AI features (I absolutely don't need) and never in my life will I buy a mac for coding. My current laptop is HODL'ing and idk if this enshittification will end soon.

Yeah it sucks. Got an MBP here which was my refuge from Windows. That's gone to hell too.

I am moving off onto an old desktop running Debian stable slowly as I don't really need a laptop. This also isolates me from a number of geopolitical and technology creep and lock-in related risks I have identified.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#95

Post by repelsteeltje »

I'm frankly amazed that the majority of new laptops still come with Microsoft Windows.

To be fair, over the years there have been sincere efforts to re-architect the OS with a security, privacy, reliability for peristent storage, graphics, multi-tasking, multi-user, networking etc. But those efforts never caught up with the speed at which bloat was added.

At the heart, its design still has remnants that have the naivety of a stand-alone, stateless microcomputer that boots straight off a floppy after BIOS POST.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#96

Post by nananana9 »

dgxyz wrote: post #50
r2vcap wrote: post #37

A few days ago, Notepad++ got compromised—apparently by a state actor (or a proxy). And now, today, Windows’ built-in Notepad has a fresh CVE. What a life. At this point, what am I supposed to do other than uninstall Windows completely? No real sandboxing, a mountain of legacy…

Well technically Unixes like Linux are a mountain of legacy and they are fine. Windows is just a mountain of shit.

"Fine"

Why does every Linux distro under the sun try so hard to protect the garbage under /usr/bin/ and /etc/ when literally the only files that matter to me are in /home, which is a free-for-all?

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#97

Post by ddtaylor »

rmunn wrote: post #7

"An attacker could trick a user into clicking a malicious link inside a Markdown file opened in Notepad, causing the application to launch unverified protocols that load and execute remote files." I didn't even know Notepad would render Markdown.

Torture will continue until morale improves

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#98

Post by ntoskrnl_exe »

hennell wrote: post #51
Fiveplus wrote: post #14

We have officially reached the logical conclusion of the feature-bloat-to-vulnerability pipeline. For nearly thirty years, notepad.exe was the gold standard for a "dumb" utility which was a simple, win32-backed buffer for strings that did exactly one thing...display text. An 8.8 CVSS on a utility meant for viewing data is a fundamental failure of the principle of least privilege. At some point, they need to stop aski…

A utility meant for viewing data? I don't think you understand what a text editor is. I'd agree that recent features feel a bit unnecessary, but it does need to edit and write files - including system ones (going through however that is authorised). You could sandbox a lot of apps with limited impact, but it would make a text editor really useless. Least privilege principles work best when you don't need many privile…

I’m not sure I understand what you’re trying to say. You could always edit system files with notepad, that was something that the program always excelled at thanks to its simplicity in both how it looked and behaved. And i fail to see the new features as anything but useless bloat.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#99

Post by ddtaylor »

muragekibicho wrote: post #64
dgxyz wrote: post #25

Seems whatever they do they step in shit. They should stop doing stuff. They spent the last few years entirely compromising their products rather than improving them.

Exactly my predicament. My laptop reached EOL but I'm struggling to purchase a new one. They're all bundled with AI features (I absolutely don't need) and never in my life will I buy a mac for coding. My current laptop is HODL'ing and idk if this enshittification will end soon.

Do you have a moment to talk about Linux?

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#100

Post by Muromec »

keepamovin wrote: post #67
Fiveplus wrote: post #14

We have officially reached the logical conclusion of the feature-bloat-to-vulnerability pipeline. For nearly thirty years, notepad.exe was the gold standard for a "dumb" utility which was a simple, win32-backed buffer for strings that did exactly one thing...display text. An 8.8 CVSS on a utility meant for viewing data is a fundamental failure of the principle of least privilege. At some point, they need to stop aski…

I couldn't agree more. A text editor exposing an attack surface via a network stack is precisely the kind of bloat that makes modern computing ultra-fragile. I actually built a "dumb" alternative in Rust last week specifically to escape this. It’s a local-only binary—no network permissions, encrypted at rest, and uses FIPS-compliant bindings (OpenSSL) just to keep the crypto boring and standard. It’s inspectable if y…

What does notepad need openssl for?
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