Used in attacks· fix by 2022-08-157.8HighUsed by ransomware gangs
RARLAB WinRAR
CVE-2018-20250
WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability leads to Remote Code Execution
What this means for your business
- It affects RARLAB WinRAR. It matters if your company, or a supplier that handles your data, runs it.
- Attackers are already using it. CISA added it to its list of flaws used in real attacks on 15 February 2022.
- Ransomware gangs are known to have used it.
- An attacker can use it only with access to the machine itself, without a login, but only after tricking someone into an action such as opening a file or a link.
- FIRST's prediction model gives it a 96% chance of attack attempts being seen in the next 30 days, ranking above 99% of all known flaws.
What to do
- 1Check whether your company or your suppliers run RARLAB WinRAR, and which version. The affected versions are listed further down this page.
- 2If you do, follow CISA's required action below. No patch reference has been published yet.
- 3Treat it as urgent. US federal agencies must fix it by 15 August 2022. That deadline does not apply to private companies, but it shows how seriously CISA takes it.
- 4Because attackers have used it, check the affected systems for signs of a break-in, not only for the update.
Not sure if your company is exposed?
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Required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
CISA’s wording, unedited.
Scoring
- CVSS
- 7.8 (v3.1)
- Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H- Weakness
- CWE-36
- Assigned by
- cve@checkpoint.com
Dates
- Published
- 2022-02-15
- Last modified
- 2026-08-13
- Added to KEV
- 2022-02-15
- Remediation due
- 2022-08-15
- Sources
- CISA KEV, NVD
Affected products
- Rarlab Winrar- 5.61
As listed in the NVD configuration data. Not a statement about your estate.
References
- http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152618/RARLAB-WinRAR-ACE-Format-Input-Validation-Remote-Code-Execution.html
- http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/windows/fileformat/winrar_ace
- http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/106948
- https://github.com/blau72/CVE-2018-20250-WinRAR-ACE
- https://research.checkpoint.com/extracting-code-execution-from-winrar/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46552/
- https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46756/
- https://www.win-rar.com/whatsnew.html
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-20250