
The security firm stated that companies should monitor the unusual processes of Notepad++ and pay particular attention to shell product types to mitigate the risks posed by this vulnerability. Cybereason analyzed the plugin loading mechanism based on these prior attacks. In addition, it enables the attacker to install a keylogger on the machine and steal passwords and other information. Share Improve this answer answered at 23:38 Taz 21 1 Add a comment 1 If you use 64 bit Notepad++, use 64 bit version of the plugin. > type Compare in search bar -> check Compare checkbox -> click Install button -> click Yes on dialog box. The combination of these two techniques allow the attackers to persist after reboot on a machine. click Plugins on Menu bar -> click Plugins Admin. Select ComparePlugin from the plugins table and download ComparePluginx.x.x.unicode.zip.

Notepad ++ restarts and then the plugins list loads properly. Goto notepad++ plugins donwload page at Sourceforge here. In particular, the APT group StrongPity has been known to leverage a legitimate installer for Notepad++ alongside malicious executables. I recently had this issue on Notepad++ 7.3.1 and to fix it, I opened Notepad++ as administrator, navigated the menus Plugins > Plugin Manager > Show Plugin Manager, then go to the Installed tab, select 'Plugin Manager' and click Reinstall. This is not the first time that advanced persistent threat groups have used Notepad++ plugins to conduct attacks and other nefarious activity. Cybereason released an advisory pertaining to the vulnerability on Wednesday. Security researcher by the name RastaMouse was able to provide a demonstration showing how a malicious plugin could be used as a persistence mechanism.

Security firm Cybereason have suggested that threat actors could exploit Notepad++ plugins to get around security mechanisms and achieve persistence on the victim’s machine.
