CVE-2018-20250
HIGHCISA KEVEPSS 100th pctlDescription
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.
How to fix
Actively exploited, no published fix found yet
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Federal remediation due: 2022-08-15
Known ransomware campaign use
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
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CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 100% of all known CVEs.
WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability
WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal vulnerability leads to Remote Code Execution
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Remediation due: 2022-08-15
Associated with ransomware campaigns
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-36 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2024-13159 | Critical | 9.8 | 100% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-48248 | High | 8.6 | 94% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-13160 | Critical | 9.8 | 91% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2024-13161 | Critical | 9.8 | 90% | KEV | Fix |
| CVE-2023-3765 | Critical | 10.0 | 68% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2025-34392 | Critical | 9.8 | 25% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2018-20250?
No published fix for CVE-2018-20250 has been found yet. It is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list; federal agencies must remediate by 2022-08-15. Apply the vendor's mitigations per CISA's guidance.
Is CVE-2018-20250 being actively exploited?
Yes. CVE-2018-20250 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation has been observed in the wild. CISA has also linked it to known ransomware campaigns. US federal agencies were required to remediate it by 2022-08-15. Treat it as a priority whatever its CVSS score says.
How severe is CVE-2018-20250?
CVE-2018-20250 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
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This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2025-10-31.