Threats / RARLAB / CVE-2018-20250
CVE-2018-20250
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
RARLAB WinRAR vulnerability
WinRAR contains an absolute path traversal vulnerability enabling remote code execution through specially crafted archive files, exploited in active ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
An attacker can execute arbitrary code by crafting a malicious RAR archive that exploits path traversal during extraction, bypassing intended directory restrictions and achieving code execution with user privileges.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-02-155Ransomware use Flagged5EPSS 0.96274 (verify live)6Exploit Weaponized · public PoC7CVSS 7.8 (CISA)4CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total4
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Fully weaponized — public exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
13 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96274 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: RARLAB, WinRAR. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-36 Absolute Path Traversal — weakness family: Path traversal / file.CWE — CNA-assigned (CVE.org); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 1106 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a RAR archive containing files with absolute path references that escape the intended extraction directory.
Business
Users unknowingly extract archives containing executable payloads placed in system-critical locations.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I distribute the malicious archive via email, file-sharing platforms, or compromised websites to maximize reach.
Business
Attack surface expands across customer base relying on WinRAR for routine file handling.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I trigger code execution when the user extracts the archive, gaining execution context under their account privileges.
Business
Ransomware or data-stealing payloads execute with user-level access, enabling encryption or exfiltration.
4
Data at risk — exfiltration narrative 4
Attacker
I establish persistence or escalate privileges to compromise the system further.
Business
Incident response costs, downtime, ransom demands, and regulatory exposure accumulate across affected organizations.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05
Coverage & confidence
— what we know, and what we don’tEstablished (cited)
Coverage gaps — stated, not hidden
Disclosure & credit2
Catalogued by checkpointCNA
Credited with finding itNo finder named in the public CVE record — the work behind this find is unattributed.