The developer of the popular open source text editor Notepad++ has confirmed that hackers hijacked the software to deliver malicious updates to users over the course of several months in 2025.
In a blog post published Monday, Notepad++ developer Don Ho said that the cyberattack was likely carried out by hackers associated with the Chinese government between June and December 2025, citing multiple analyses by security experts who examined the malware payloads and attack patterns. Ho said this “would explain the highly selective targeting” seen during the campaign.
Anyone know if this affected updates through winget?
Last I checked the source of the winget package was github, which is the same on the official website. So I would imagine that updating via Winget is just as vulnerable. The details are super vague.
Edit: Somebody else commented that it was only auto-update that was compromised, and winget would be considered a manual update because it download from their github. So I think winget may be safe.
Dont quote me on that though, the information is still super vague and I am going off of somebody else’s comment.
Good thing I always ignore notepad++ updates. I mean, good on the devs for active development, but having a user-intervention-required update option every time I launch? Feels clunky.
I already hated it, now I uninstalled it, thank you
Kinda weird you had ‘already hated’ software installed in the first place…
I really don’ remember why i downloaded it. Generally when I first get my PC, I install programs like Sublime, Notepad++, vs code etc. I use Sublime for most of the tasks and it gets bloated, so I sometimes use Notepad++. I wasnt using for the last months. So I uninstalled it. The Json plugin was better than Sublime as far as I remember, maybe that’s why I installed it.
So you install software you already hate first chance you get to new PCs?
Yes. Because i sometimes need it. I hate Windows too dude, but I have to use it, because my company requires it.
Kinda weird.
You are welcome!
