CVE-2005-4474
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedBuffer overflow in the "Add to archive" command in WinRAR 3.51 allows user-assisted attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code by tricking the user into adding a file whose filename contains a non-default code page and non-ANSI characters, as demonstrated using a Chinese filename, possibly due to buffer expansion when using the WideCharToMultiByte API. NOTE: it is not clear whether this problem can be exploited for code execution. If not, then perhaps the user-assisted nature of the attack should exclude the issue from inclusion in CVE.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceBuffer overflow in WinRAR 3.51's 'Add to archive' function when processing filenames with non-default code page and non-ANSI characters (e.g., Chinese characters). The WideCharToMultiByte API call expands the buffer improperly, leading to potential crash or arbitrary code execution when a user is tricked into archiving a specially crafted filename.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 3.51CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
-
Check WinRAR versionOpen WinRAR, go to Help > About WinRAR, or right-click the winrar.exe file and select Properties > Version tab to see the exact version numberAffected if Version is exactly 3.51 (note: only this specific version is affected)
-
Identify archive creation activityLook for recent archive creation operations using WinRAR's 'Add to archive' function - check WinRAR's history or recent file access timestampsAffected if User has recently created or modified archives using WinRAR 3.51
-
Check for Unicode/non-ANSI filenamesReview the filenames in the archive or source directory - look for filenames containing Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or other non-ANSI characters that require Unicode/code page conversionAffected if Archive contains or recently contained files with non-ANSI Unicode characters in filenames
A user is affected if they are running exactly WinRAR version 3.51 and have used the 'Add to archive' function to package files with Unicode or non-ANSI character filenames (such as Chinese characters).
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to a patched version of WinRAR beyond 3.51; avoid adding files with Unicode/special character filenames from untrusted sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,248.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-4474 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-4474 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.
A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data