I was prompted to upgrade Notepad++ because of a recently reported vulnerability, CVE-2026-57233. However, the official download page looks unusual: the current installers have politically themed names such as "Slava Ukraini" and "Tiananmen Massacre Commemoration." Given that the project's update infrastructure was compromised in the past, I'm wondering whether the latest downloads are trustworthy or if the strange naming is simply intentional. Has anyone verified version 8.9.7, and are there sensible checks I should perform before installing it?
3 Answers
Your caution is justified, especially because the project had a previous compromise. The safest approach is to use the official download source, check that the file is digitally signed by the expected publisher, compare its hash with a trusted published value if one is provided, and scan it before running it. If those checks pass, the unusual release names alone aren’t a strong reason to assume the software is compromised.
The political phrases in the download titles are intentional and have appeared in the project’s releases for years. They’re campaign-style messages from the developer, not evidence that the installer itself has been altered. The site’s News section explains the naming, although it’s completely understandable to find the presentation surprising.
The project published a clarification about the earlier security incident, and the current release is generally considered safe. It’s still sensible to download only from the official site, verify the installer’s signature or checksum when available, and scan the file with a multi-engine service such as VirusTotal. Keep in mind that an occasional single-engine detection can be a false positive, especially for an installer, so it should be investigated rather than treated as definitive proof of malware.
The MSI was flagged by one scanner as Trojan.MSI.Agent.JUV. That may well be a false positive, but waiting for the detection to be reviewed or confirmed by additional engines is reasonable if you don’t need the update immediately.