CVE-2018-20250: WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability
Affects RARLAB WinRARSource CISA KEV
Exploited in the wild · used in ransomware campaigns · KEV due 15 Aug 2022 · public exploit available (Metasploit, Exploit-DB) · 96% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to RARLAB WinRAR now.
Data as of 10/24/2026, 22:15:59 UTC
- Exploitation
Actively exploited – in CISA KEV since 02/15/2022
- KEV deadline
- 08/15/2022 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else.
- Ransomware
- Used in ransomware campaigns
- EPSS
- 96.0% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 99% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
- Public exploits
- 1 Metasploit module, 3 Exploit-DB entriesPublic attack or detection tooling exists; see Public exploits below.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HWhat to do
CISA required action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploits and detection
Metasploit modules
Exploit-DB
- RARLAB WinRAR 5.61 - ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)2019-04-25 · verified (opens in a new tab)
- RARLAB WinRAR 5.61 - ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)2019-04-25 · verified (opens in a new tab)
- WinRAR 5.61 - Path Traversal2019-02-22 · verified (opens in a new tab)
Public tooling indexed from Metasploit Framework, Exploit-DB and ProjectDiscovery nuclei-templates. Its existence raises the odds of exploitation; it does not confirm attacks.
Description
WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability leads to Remote Code Execution
Weaknesses
- CWE-36Absolute Path Traversal (opens in a new tab)
Base weaknessOWASP Top 10 A01:2025: Broken Access Control (opens in a new tab)
The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize absolute path sequences such as "/abs/path" that can resolve to a location that is outside of that directory.