https://notepad-plus-plus.org/news/v889-released
The popular text editor Notepad++ has released version 8.8.9 to address a critical security vulnerability affecting its updater, WinGUp. According to security experts, incidents of traffic hijacking have been reported, where the traffic between the updater client and the Notepad++ update infrastructure was being redirected to malicious servers, resulting in the download of compromised executables.
The vulnerability was found to be a weakness in the way the updater validates the integrity and authenticity of the downloaded update file. Exploiting this weakness, an attacker could intercept the network traffic and prompt the updater to download and execute an unwanted binary instead of the legitimate Notepad++ update. To mitigate this issue, the new release introduces a security enhancement that verifies the signature and certificate of the downloaded installers during the update process, and aborts the update if the verification fails.
The investigation into the exact method of the traffic hijacking is ongoing, and users will be informed once tangible evidence is established. In the meantime, Notepad++ recommends that users who have previously installed the root certificate should remove it, as the binaries, including the installer, are now digitally signed using a legitimate certificate issued by GlobalSign.