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CVE-2018-20250

7.8, high Known exploited Used in ransomware

WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability

NVD (opens in a new tab) CVE.org (opens in a new tab) CISA KEV catalogue (opens in a new tab)
CVSS
7.8, high high CVSS v3.1
EPSS, next 30 days
96% higher than 99.8% of scored CVEs
Exploitation
Confirmed in the wild
Published
5 Feb 20197 years ago

Known exploited

CISA added this to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog on 15 Feb 2022 and links it to ransomware activity. US federal agencies had to remediate by 15 Aug 2022, a deadline that has passed.

Required action. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Description

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.

Details

Vendor
RARLAB
Product
WinRAR
Weakness
CWE-36 (opens in a new tab)
Status
Analyzed
Updated
13 Aug 2026
Assigner
cve@checkpoint.com

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

References 9

Exploit code 5

Advisories 2

Other references 2

The kind is read from NVD's tags where present and from the shape of the URL otherwise, so treat it as a hint.

Other RARLAB CVEs

Every RARLAB CVE we hold

Same vendor in what we hold, not a known link between the flaws.

  • CVE-2025-8088 RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV EPSS 95% 8.8, high
  • CVE-2025-6218 RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV EPSS 90% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2023-38831 RARLAB WinRAR Code Execution Vulnerability KEV EPSS 100% 7.8, high
  • CVE-2022-30333 RARLAB UnRAR Directory Traversal Vulnerability KEV EPSS 99% 7.5, high

Beyond this page

Is CVE-2018-20250 in your network?

This page tells you how dangerous CVE-2018-20250 is out there. Whether it sits on one of your devices, only a scan of your own network can tell. That is what our systems do, every day, for the companies we protect.

CVE-2018-20250 is in the CISA catalogue of exploited vulnerabilities: attackers are already exploiting it.

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  • EXYS7950 KONDRA

    Detect it if it's exploited

    Until the patch is applied, Kondra monitors your network, events and endpoints in real time. It keeps an inventory of the software installed on every endpoint, and its anomaly detection rules flag what an attacker does once inside.

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Check your exposure

Assembled from the NVD 2.0 API, the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog and FIRST EPSS. Scores are as of our last collection on 17 Oct 2026, not the live upstream state.