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.
CVE-2018-20250
“▲” beside the score: it is higher than NVD's CVSS score.
Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-02-15), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. The 9.0 is the floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: this CVE's impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH under GitHub Security Advisory CVSS. Confidence: HIGH.
Also known asEUVD-2018-12813 (ENISA EUVD) · GHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc (GitHub Security Advisories)Source: ENISA EUVD
- Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV) — the reason this is sooner than the SSVC decision on this page at low or medium mission impact
No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2019 — use a compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and check the vendor's advisory.
- CVSS v3
- 7.8
- EG Score
- 9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
- EG Risk
- 75EG Risk 75/100
EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score. It fuses impact severity (EG Severity, the CVSS base score, never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score) with real-world exploitation and automatability, under weights EchelonGraph set by hand, so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner.
How it’s computed (value × EchelonGraph’s weight)Severity78% × 45%Impact severity (EG Severity): CVSS 7.8 of 10. Never the KEV-floored or EPSS-lifted EG Score.Exploitation100% × 40%Fixed at 100% for a CISA KEV listing: EchelonGraph's rule.Automatability0% × 15%CISA's SSVC Automatable value: no (Vulnrichment).SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph): Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE.Action: No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2019. Check the vendor's advisory for a fixed release; until one is applied, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation on your normal schedule at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact. - EPSS PROB
- 96%
- EPSS %ILE
- 99th
- KEV
- ⚠ Exploited
What the EG score is made of (scorer v4.0: the three questions the 0–10 score mixes, published apart · methodology)
The EG score (9.0): severity, escalated by confirmed exploitation. This CVE's 9.0 is the CISA KEV floor for confirmed exploitation, not an impact rating: its impact severity (EG Severity) is CVSS 7.8 HIGH.
- EG Severity
- 7.8 HIGHCVSS-B, impact only: no KEV listing, EPSS or EG-KEV tier raises it.GitHub Security Advisory CVSS
- EG Likelihood
- 96% within 30 daysSource: FIRST EPSS (model v2026.06.15, score date 2026-11-01). FIRST's exploitation probability, not an EchelonGraph model.
- Confirmed exploitation
- CISA KEV and EG-KEV Tier 1 (exploited in the wild)Reported apart from the likelihood: an observed fact, not a probability.
- EG Priority
- SSVC Attend at medium mission impactTrack at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.CISA BOD 26-04: 3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.No released fix is confirmed on this page, but CISA's timeline does not wait for a fix's release: this CVE is in CISA's KEV catalog, and CISA's required action for it, quoted below, applies whether or not a fix is released.Each input and its source, and whom BOD 26-04 binds: the SSVC and BOD 26-04 blocks below.
SSVC (CISA's decision table, applied by EchelonGraph)Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2019. Check the vendor's advisory for a fixed release; until one is applied, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation on your normal schedule at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact.
Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). All three are CISA's SSVC values (Vulnrichment). EchelonGraph applied CISA's decision table to them; CISA publishes SSVC inputs and the table, not a decision for each CVE. Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it. CISA's table makes it high when Mission Prevalence is Essential — the vulnerable component "directly provides capabilities that constitute at least one MEF for at least one entity" (MEF: mission essential function) — or when Public Well-Being Impact is Irreversible: "multiple fatalities are likely", the cyber-physical system "is likely lost or destroyed", "extreme or serious externalities" are imposed on other parties, or social systems such as elections or the financial grid "are destabilized and potentially collapse". CISA's decision table
BOD 26-04 (CISA's remediation timeline, Table 1)3 days & forensic triage if the affected system is publicly exposed; 14 days if it is not.
No released fix is confirmed on this page, but CISA's timeline does not wait for a fix's release: this CVE is in CISA's KEV catalog, and CISA's required action for it, quoted below, applies whether or not a fix is released.
The score's inputs: In CISA KEV yes (CISA's KEV catalog) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Whether your system is publicly exposed is yours to answer. BOD 26-04 binds US Federal Civilian Executive Branch agencies; for anyone else it is CISA's published timeline, a reference rather than an obligation. The directive · how EchelonGraph applies it
CISA required action“Apply updates per vendor instructions.”
Quoted verbatim from CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. CISA directs it at US federal civilian executive branch agencies under Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 26-04, which replaced BOD 22-01 on 10 June 2026; it is not EchelonGraph's advice. CISA's notes: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-20250
Published
February 5, 2019
Last Modified
August 13, 2026
Advisory Details (8)
Auto-updated Oct 26, 2026RARLAB WinRAR ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution | Metasploit Module
http://www.rapid7.com/db/modules/exploit/windows/fileformat/winrar_acePacket Storm
http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/152618/RARLAB-WinRAR-ACE-Format-Input-Validation-Remote-Code-Execution.htmlRARLAB WinRAR 5.61 - ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution (Metasploit) - Windows local Exploit
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46756/WinRAR 5.61 - Path Traversal - Windows local Exploit
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/46552/Extracting a 19 Year Old Code Execution from WinRAR - Check Point Research
https://research.checkpoint.com/extracting-code-execution-from-winrar/GitHub - easis/CVE-2018-20250-WinRAR-ACE: Proof of concept code in C# to exploit the WinRAR ACE file extraction path (CVE-2018-20250). · GitHub
https://github.com/blau72/CVE-2018-20250-WinRAR-ACEWeakness Classification(2)
MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.
Data Freshness Timeline
(refreshed 15× in last 7d / 109× in last 30d)
Each row is a time one of our pipelines fetched, updated or re-scored this CVE. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. An arrow marks a change the record states ("CVSS v3 → 9.1"); EPSS and GHSA rows show the values recorded at that time, not what changed (EPSS values are rounded; hover one for the exact figures). Most recent first.
Showing the most recent 100 of 1,021 refreshes on record for this CVE.
A repeat, a row identical to one the same pipeline wrote less than 10 seconds earlier, is not a separate refresh and is not counted. None are among the latest 100 rows. The 921 oldest rows on record are not shown and were not checked, so the counts can still include repeats.
- 2026-11-02 10:16 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-11-02 10:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-11-01 08:58 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-11-01 08:58 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-31 07:41 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-31 07:41 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-30 06:26 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-30 06:26 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-29 05:11 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-29 05:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-28 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-28 03:56 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-28 03:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-27 02:39 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-27 02:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-26 01:21 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-25 19:20 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-25 00:06 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-25 00:06 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-23 22:48 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-23 22:48 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-22 21:33 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-22 21:32 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-22 16:28 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
Show 75 moreShow fewer
- 2026-10-21 20:17 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-21 20:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-20 19:01 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-20 19:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-19 17:45 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-19 17:45 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-19 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-18 16:28 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-18 16:28 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-18 16:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-18 10:13 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-17 14:44 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-17 14:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-16 13:28 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-16 13:27 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-15 12:11 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-15 12:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-14 16:27 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-14 10:55 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-14 10:54 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-13 09:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-12 20:13 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-12 08:22 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-12 04:33 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-12 00:46 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 21:01 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 21:01 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 17:15 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 17:15 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 13:30 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-11 13:29 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 09:42 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 05:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-11 02:10 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 22:24 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 18:38 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 14:52 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 11:07 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 07:22 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-10 03:35 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 23:51 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 20:05 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 16:20 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 12:35 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 08:49 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 05:04 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-09 01:19 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 21:34 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 17:50 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 14:04 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 10:16 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 06:30 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-08 02:45 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 23:00 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 19:15 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 15:30 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 11:44 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 07:59 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 04:14 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-07 00:28 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 20:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 16:55 UTCEG score recompute
- 2026-10-06 16:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 15:12 UTCEPSS rescoreEPSS 96% · 99th percentile
- 2026-10-06 13:10 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 09:25 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 05:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-06 01:56 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 22:11 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 18:25 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 14:40 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 10:55 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 07:08 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-05 03:23 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
- 2026-10-04 23:37 UTCGHSA enrichmentGHSA-7v9q-j964-43qc · GitHub severity HIGH · GitHub CVSS 7.8
Publicly available exploits
(9 references)Public exploit code is referenced for this CVE (1 Metasploit module, 2 Exploit-DB entries, 5 GitHub PoCs), as is 1 GitHub checker repository. A GitHub repository named or described as a checker or scanner checks whether a system is affected; it is not necessarily exploit code. No fix has been recorded since the CVE record was published in 2019. If the vendor still supports the product, apply the fixed version it names; if it no longer does, isolate the affected system.
- Exploit-DBEDB-46756✓ verifiedPublished Apr 25, 2019
RARLAB WinRAR 5.61 - ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution (Metasploit)
Open source ↗ - Metasploitexploit/windows/fileformat/winrar_ace✓ verifiedPublished Apr 24, 2019
RARLAB WinRAR ACE Format Input Validation Remote Code Execution
Open source ↗ - Exploit-DBEDB-46552✓ verifiedPublished Feb 22, 2019
WinRAR 5.61 - Path Traversal
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCarkangel-dev/CVE-2018-20250-WINRAR-ACE-GUIPublished Mar 8, 2019
CVE-2018-20250-WINRAR-ACE Exploit with a UI
Open source ↗ - GitHub checkerEktoplasma/ezwinrarPublished Mar 5, 2019
Python tool exploiting CVE-2018-20250 found by CheckPoint folks
Open source ↗ - Open source ↗GitHub PoCSTP5940/CVE-2018-20250Published Feb 28, 2019
- GitHub PoCeasis/CVE-2018-20250-WinRAR-ACEPublished Feb 23, 2019
Proof of concept code in C# to exploit the WinRAR ACE file extraction path (CVE-2018-20250).
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCQAX-A-Team/CVE-2018-20250Published Feb 22, 2019
010 Editor template for ACE archive format & CVE-2018-2025[0-3]
Open source ↗ - GitHub PoCWyAtu/CVE-2018-20250Published Feb 22, 2019
exp for https://research.checkpoint.com/extracting-code-execution-from-winrar
Open source ↗
Related CVEs(same CWE)
Same CWE
10 shownCWE-22
Frequently asked(6)
What is CVE-2018-20250?
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Dependency Blast Radius
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