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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2018-20250

WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability

Published Feb 5, 2019 · catalog updated Aug 12, 2026 · RARLAB WinRAR

Patch now

CVE-2018-20250 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Aug 15, 2022. Confirm RARLAB WinRAR against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Gaps on this record

  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
Severity
High7.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
96.00%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe rarlab/winrar · vendor RARLAB WinRAR

In WinRAR versions prior to and including 5.61, There is path traversal vulnerability when crafting the filename field of the ACE format (in UNACEV2.dll). When the filename field is manipulated with specific patterns, the destination (extraction) folder is ignored, thus treating the filename as an absolute path.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe rarlab/winrarversion unspecified
  • vendor RARLAB WinRARversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2018-20250

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2018-20250 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Aug 15, 2022. Confirm RARLAB WinRAR against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-22: Path Traversal; CWE-36. EPSS 96.00%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. A public exploit reference is linked in Sources. That is not the same as confirmed exploitation. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Feb 5, 2019 · Catalog

    Detected

    In WinRAR versions prior to and including 5.61, There is path traversal vulnerability when crafting the filename field of the ACE format (in UNACEV2.dll). When the filename field is manipulated with specific patterns, the destination (extraction) folder is ignored, thus treating the filename as an absolute path.

  2. Feb 15, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  3. Aug 15, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  4. Aug 12, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    In WinRAR versions prior to and including 5.61, There is path traversal vulnerability when crafting the filename field of the ACE format (in UNACEV2.dll). When the filename field is manipulated with specific patterns, the destination (extraction) folder is ignored, thus treating the filename as an absolute path.

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2018-20250

    WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability leads to Remote Code Execution

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2018-20250

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2018-20250

    30-day exploitation probability 96.0%

    first.org
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference46552

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference46756

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_windows/fileformat/winrar_ace

    Public module reference (excellent). Module source is not copied into this catalog.

    rapid7.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2018-20250

    In WinRAR versions prior to and including 5.61, There is path traversal vulnerability when crafting the filename field of the ACE format (in UNACEV2.dll). When the filename field is manipulated with specific patterns, the destination (extraction) folder is ignored, thus treating

    nvd.nist.gov
  • Packet Storm SecurityCited referencehttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152618/RARLAB-WinRAR-ACE-Format-Input-Validation-Remote-Code-Execution.html

    Packet Storm link already published on the finding.

    packetstormsecurity.com
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2018-20250

    WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability leads to Remote Code Execution

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.