CVE-2025-6218 — RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability
RARLAB WinRAR Directory Traversal Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of RARLAB WinRAR. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file. The specific flaw exists within the handling of file paths within archive files. A crafted file path can cause the process to traverse to unintended directories. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-27198.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Confirmed exploitation (CISA KEV)+35
- Public exploit/PoC (github)+6
- EPSS 90.5% (30-day exploitation probability)+15
- Technical severity (high)+6
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
CISA required action CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
US federal deadline: Dec 30, 2025 — passed 290 day(s) ago
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Rarlab Winrar).
- Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
- EPSS ahead of 100% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
- Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (file handling), errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.0 | High | 1.8 | 5.9 | zdi-disclosures@trendmicro.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.0 | High | — | — | GitHub, Inc. via GitHub Security Advisories |
| 7.8 | CVSS 3.0 | High | — | — | zdi via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H (score shown at the top: zdi-disclosures@trendmicro.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
CISA KEV details CISA
CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.
CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.
Public exploits, PoCs and detection templates
Public code that demonstrates or tests the flaw raises the odds of mass exploitation — and Nuclei templates help find vulnerable assets in your environment.
- Proof of Concept for CVE-2025-6218, demonstrating the exploitation of a vulnerability in WinRAR versions 7.11 and under, involving improper handling of archive extraction paths. ★ 29 Jul 1, 2025
- CVE-2025-6218 is a directory traversal vulnerability in WinRAR that allows an attacker to place files outside the intended extraction directory when a user extracts a specially crafted ★ 19 Jul 10, 2025
- speinador/CVE-2025-6218_WinRAR ★ 16 Jun 27, 2025
- A simple proof of concept for WinRAR Path Traversal | RCE | CVE-2025-6218 ★ 12 Jun 29, 2025
- RARLAB WinRAR Directory Traversal Remote Code Execution ★ 10 Jul 3, 2025
- Comprehensive analysis and proof-of-concept for CVE-2025-6218 - WinRAR path traversal RCE vulnerability affecting versions 7.11 and earlier ★ 2 Dec 15, 2025
Warning: public PoCs are sometimes disguised malware. Use them only for authorized testing in an isolated environment. This portal does not host exploit code — it only points to the sources.
EPSS over time FIRST
Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 15, 2026 · 3 reading(s) · max 90.48%
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Local/physical vector: focus on endpoint telemetry (EDR) from affected hosts.
- Monitor file creation in web directories and paths with traversal sequences (../).
- Hunt retroactively in logs from before Dec 9, 2025 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · rarlab/winrar
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- Affected products added · rarlab/winrar
- CVSS changed · 7.8
- Source status changed · → Analyzed
- Added to CISA KEV (detected)
- Record created in this database
- 2025
- Added to CISA KEV catalog
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 2× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
References
10 on the record
- www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-8x66-x5gf-2pc8
- www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-409
- www.win-rar.com/singlenewsview.html
- www.secpod.com/blog/archive-terror-dissecting-the-winrar-cve-2025-6218-exploit-apt-c
- www.secpod.com/blog/archive-terror-dissecting-the-winrar-cve-2025-6218-exploit-apt-c
- foresiet.com/blog/apt-c-08-winrar-directory-traversal-exploit/
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-6218
- www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-25-409/
- foresiet.com/blog/apt-c-08-winrar-directory-traversal-exploit
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- High CVE-2026-14191 WinRAR / UnRAR RAR5 recovery-volume (.rev) out-of-bounds heap write in RecVolumes5::ReadHeader Jul 1, 2026
- Medium CVE-2019-25677 WinRAR 5.61 Denial of Service via Malformed Language File Apr 5, 2026
- Medium CVE-2025-52331 Cross-site Scripting (XSS) in Rarlab Winrar Nov 12, 2025
- High CVE-2025-8088 RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV Aug 8, 2025
- High CVE-2023-38831 RARLAB WinRAR Code Execution Vulnerability KEV Aug 23, 2023
- High CVE-2018-20250 WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability KEV Feb 5, 2019
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2025-6218 is "RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Winrar (Rarlab); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.8 describes technical severity. EPSS 90.48% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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