Assessment
Why it matters
CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 96.3%; technical severity is CVSS 7.8.
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.
Who should care
- Teams operating WinRAR
- Vulnerability and exposure management teams
- Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity
Response plan
What I would do
- Confirm whether WinRAR is present in the environment.
- Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
- Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.
Vendor remediation
Patch and remediation links
Use the vendor source below to confirm the correct fixed version, package or mitigation for your affected product.
Technical details
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CWE
- CWE-36
- Affected versions
- RARLAB WinRAR (End Including: 5.61)
- Published
- 5 February 2019
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- None
- User interaction
- Required
Signal timeline
- CVE published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Latest EPSS score: 96.3%
- Signal calculated at 85
External references
- Government advisory from www.cisa.gov
- Exploit information from packetstormsecurity.com
- Third-party advisory from www.rapid7.com
- Third-party advisory from www.securityfocus.com
- Exploit information from github.com
- Exploit information from research.checkpoint.com
- Exploit information from www.exploit-db.com
- Exploit information from www.exploit-db.com
- Release notes from www.win-rar.com