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Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

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Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#161

I found a copy of the win98 (I believe) notepad.exe a while back, and it works perfectly on windows 11 (though the "about notepad" dialog shows the windows 11 version for some reason??). I can write text into it, save it, and load text again. What more does notepad need? And it has a very nostalgic font too

> What more does notepad need?

AI! It needs AI. Did I guess it right?

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#162

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…

EDIT: THE OLD NOTEPAD IS STILL IN WINDOWS AND WE CAN USE IT! https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3845356/... You basically have to find the "execution alias" setting and disable notepad and you get the ole reliable :D OLD POST: This has hurt me specifically. Since I work without IDEs, no VIM, no vs code. On linux I use nano, on windows I use Notepad. I like the minimalism and the fact that I have abso…

> the purity of "working with what's installed".

Oh, a kindred spirit!

I too absolutely love the notion of the base install, and what can be done just by means of its already available toolset.

(Fun tidbit: Did you know Windows comes with a bare bones C# 5 toolchain, with csc.exe, and even vbc.exe and jsc.exe?)

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#163
post #48
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Strictly, no. But it was a vulnerability in the design of Notepad++, key elements here being the featureset that requires frequent updates and the lack of integrity checks during the upgrade process. This has prompted me to move on from Notepad++ - it's sad, because I've used it for many years, but this is too much.

> in the design of Notepad++ One could argue it's an issue with windows where you can't just pull updates using a package manager/app store.

I am driving an Ubuntu installation because it's what's my current employer mandates and coming from arch it feels like going back to Windows. Oh-my-zsh, opencode, gemini-cli, bun, pyenv, nvm... All installed with curl | bash which is not as bad as a .exe or .msi -- those are scripts you can still easily inspect -- but it's also bypassing the pkg manager.

But I guess that's what you get when you fragment your ecosystem in apt, snap and gnome extension manager. I need to master nix asap.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#164

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…

EDIT: THE OLD NOTEPAD IS STILL IN WINDOWS AND WE CAN USE IT! https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3845356/... You basically have to find the "execution alias" setting and disable notepad and you get the ole reliable :D OLD POST: This has hurt me specifically. Since I work without IDEs, no VIM, no vs code. On linux I use nano, on windows I use Notepad. I like the minimalism and the fact that I have abso…

I had a USB that I carried around with me with a whole bunch of portable apps on it. That allowed me to have some kind of "standard environment" I could rely on.

I've since migrated to Linux 100% (outside of work) and whilst there are the odd annoyances, it's been a breath of fresh air compared to Windows. And I can have a good chuckle almost once a week these days with each new Windows consumer hostility coming across the HN front page.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EDIT: THE OLD NOTEPAD IS STILL IN WINDOWS AND WE CAN USE IT! https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3845356/... You basically have to find the "execution alias" setting and disable notepad and you get the ole reliable :D OLD POST: This has hurt me specifically. Since I work without IDEs, no VIM, no vs code. On linux I use nano, on windows I use Notepad. I like the minimalism and the fact that I have abso…

> the purity of "working with what's installed". Oh, a kindred spirit! I too absolutely love the notion of the base install, and what can be done just by means of its already available toolset. (Fun tidbit: Did you know Windows comes with a bare bones C# 5 toolchain, with csc.exe, and even vbc.exe and jsc.exe?)

> Did you know Windows comes with a bare bones C# 5 toolchain, with csc.exe, and even vbc.exe and jsc.exe?

Even with MSBuild 4. From the days when .NET Framework was an OS component and also the build tools (until Roslyn) were part of the Framework.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#166

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…

> At some point, they need to stop asking "can we add this feature?" and start asking "does this text editor need a network-aware rendering stack?" They didn’t stop there. They also asked “does this need AI?” and came up with the wrong answer.

It’s just resumé driven development. Corporate droids gotta justify their salaries somehow. It doesn’t pay to call software “done”.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#167
I found a simpler explanation for what's going on [1].

To summarize, malicious Markdown files with custom schemes in URLs can trick users into executing arbitrary code. I honestly didn't know this was a "feature" of Notepad.

I guess that's my real problem here. The constant desire for feature bloat inevitably introduces potential vulnerabilities. In no world did I expect Notepad to have the ability under any circumstances to make network requests and execute arbitrary code.

Nor should I.

As an aside, this is why I violently despise Eletron apps and anything that runs its own browser engine for a GUI. I just don't want that level of attack surface in any app that I use.

[1]: https://cybersecuritynews.com/windows-notepad-rce-vulnerabil...

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EDIT: THE OLD NOTEPAD IS STILL IN WINDOWS AND WE CAN USE IT! https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/3845356/... You basically have to find the "execution alias" setting and disable notepad and you get the ole reliable :D OLD POST: This has hurt me specifically. Since I work without IDEs, no VIM, no vs code. On linux I use nano, on windows I use Notepad. I like the minimalism and the fact that I have abso…

> the purity of "working with what's installed". Oh, a kindred spirit! I too absolutely love the notion of the base install, and what can be done just by means of its already available toolset. (Fun tidbit: Did you know Windows comes with a bare bones C# 5 toolchain, with csc.exe, and even vbc.exe and jsc.exe?)

Not having one’s configuration present is kneecapping yourself needlessly.

If you’re going to have a custom config, you might as well have a custom executable.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#169
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.

Notepad rendering other formats removes one of the specific reasons I use notepad: to strip the stupid formatting that all sorts of applications seem to want to attach to text these days.

Notepad handily strips away all the custom link namings and formats that totally fuck the expected output of a simple copy and paste. That's a big part of the its magic: it's immunity to the choices of marketing teams and dud management.

Re: Windows Notepad App Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

#170
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.

As someone who would like to get a new PC (but a desktop) for coding, and is considering a mac, why would you never buy a mac for coding ?

I'm currently running Ubuntu on this ancient thing (which I love actually), but I absolutely don't want Windows.

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