What is CVE-2018-20250?

CVE-2018-20250 is a high-severity vulnerability in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Winrar, classified under Absolute Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2019-02-05.

How severe is CVE-2018-20250?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Is CVE-2018-20250 known to be exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-20250 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15), indicating it is being actively exploited. 152 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.

Path Traversal in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Winrar

CVE-2018-20250

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.

Published 2019-02-05 · last modified 2026-08-13.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.960 (99.9th percentile), scored 2026-10-15.

Very high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — among the top 0.1% most-likely-to-be-exploited CVEs. 100th percentile — 99.9% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.963 · newest: 0.960 · change: -0.003

Affected products

Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Winrar — versions All versions prior and including 5.61
Rarlab Winrar

Weakness classification (CWE)

CISA KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities)

This CVE is on the CISA KEV catalog, added on 2022-02-15. CISA KEV inclusion means CISA has confirmed in-the-wild exploitation; US federal agencies are required to remediate within a published due date.

BOD 22-01 due date: 2022-08-15.

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Known ransomware campaign use: yes.

Public proof-of-concept exploits

References

github.com/blau72/CVE-2018-20250-WinRAR-ACE (Exploit, Third Party Advisory)
research.checkpoint.com/extracting-code-execution-from-winrar/ (Exploit, Third Party Advisory, Press/Media Coverage)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46552/ (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/106948 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry, Broken Link)
www.win-rar.com/whatsnew.html (Release Notes)
packetstormsecurity.com/files/152618/RARLAB-WinRAR-ACE-Format-Input-Validation-… (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory)
www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/windows/fileformat/winrar_ace (Third Party Advisory)
www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46756/ (Exploit, VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, exploit)
134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 (US Government Resource)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-20250?: CVE-2018-20250 is a high-severity vulnerability in Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Winrar, classified under Absolute Path Traversal. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2019-02-05.
How severe is CVE-2018-20250?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.
Is CVE-2018-20250 known to be exploited?: Yes. CVE-2018-20250 is listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15), indicating it is being actively exploited. 152 public proof-of-concept repositories are indexed.