WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal (CVE‑2018‑20250) Enables Remote Code Execution
What It Is – A flaw in RARLAB’s WinRAR allows an attacker to craft a malicious archive that, when extracted, writes files to arbitrary absolute paths. This can lead to arbitrary code execution on the host system.
Exploitability – Publicly disclosed in 2018; proof‑of‑concept archives exist and have been observed in the wild. CVSS v3.1 base score 7.8 (High).
Affected Products – WinRAR versions 5.61 and earlier on Windows platforms.
Why It Matters for Trust & Control Assurance
- Vulnerability Management – Demonstrates the need for continuous inventory and patch‑status monitoring to prove you remediate high‑severity flaws promptly.
- Secure Configuration – Unpatched compression tools become an attack surface; evidence of hardened configurations supports audit readiness across frameworks.
- Defensible Evidence – Maintaining verifiable records of version control and remediation actions satisfies multiple control objectives (e.g., NIST CSF “Protect – Maintenance” and ISO 27001 “A.12.6.1”).
Recommended Actions
- Inventory – Locate all WinRAR installations across endpoints and servers.
- Patch – Upgrade to WinRAR 5.70 or later, which resolves CVE‑2018‑20250.
- Validate – Run a vulnerability scan to confirm the fix and document the remediation.
- Monitor – Integrate WinRAR version checks into continuous asset‑management tooling for ongoing assurance.
Source: CISA KEV – CVE‑2018‑20250