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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2023-38831

RARLAB WinRAR Code Execution Vulnerability

Published Jul 10, 2023 · catalog updated Aug 4, 2026 · RARLAB WinRAR

Patch now

CVE-2023-38831 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Sep 14, 2023. 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
99.81%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe rarlab/winrar · vendor RARLAB WinRAR

RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the benign file, and the contents of the folder (which may include executable content) are processed during an attempt to access only the benign file. This was exploited in the wild in April through October 2023.

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-2023-38831

What to do

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

Should you patch?

CVE-2023-38831 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Sep 14, 2023. 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 mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-345: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity; CWE-351. EPSS 99.81%. 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. Aug 23, 2023 · Catalog

    Detected

    RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the benign file, and the contents of the folder (which may include executable content) are processed during an attempt to acc

  2. Aug 24, 2023 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

  3. Sep 14, 2023 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

  4. Aug 4, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the benign file, and the contents of the folder (which may include executable content) are processed during an attempt to acc

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2023-38831

    RARLAB WinRAR contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2023-38831

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2023-38831

    30-day exploitation probability 99.8%

    first.org
  • Metasploit ModulesPublic exploit moduleexploit_windows/fileformat/winrar_cve_2023_38831

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

    rapid7.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2023-38831

    RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the b

    nvd.nist.gov
  • Packet Storm SecurityCited referencehttp://packetstormsecurity.com/files/174573/WinRAR-Remote-Code-Execution.html

    Packet Storm link already published on the finding.

    packetstormsecurity.com
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2023-38831

    RARLAB WinRAR contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive.

    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.