CVE-2015-5663
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 · uneditedThe file-execution functionality in WinRAR before 5.30 beta 5 allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse file with a name similar to an extensionless filename that was selected by the user.
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 confidenceWinRAR before version 5.30 beta 5 contained a file-execution flaw where selecting an extensionless filename could cause the application to execute a Trojan horse file with a similar name, enabling local privilege escalation.
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<= 5.30CVSS 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
- Local
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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.
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Confirm WinRAR installationLook for WinRAR in typical installation directories: C:\Program Files\WinRAR\ or C:\Program Files (x86)\WinRAR\. Alternatively, check the Windows registry at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\winrar.exe for the installation path.Affected if WinRAR is found installed on the system
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Locate the WinRAR executableNavigate to the WinRAR installation folder identified in the previous step and locate the winrar.exe file.Affected if The winrar.exe file exists in the expected installation directory
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Retrieve the installed version numberRight-click on winrar.exe, select Properties, then go to the Details tab to view the File Version. Alternatively, open WinRAR, click Help, and select About WinRAR to display the version information.Affected if A version number is displayed in the file properties or About dialog
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Compare version against affected rangeExamine the version number obtained. The affected versions are WinRAR 5.30 and earlier, including any beta versions before beta 5. Version 5.30 beta 5 and later are not affected.Affected if The displayed version is 5.30 or any version earlier than 5.30 beta 5 (for example, 5.21, 5.20, 5.11 beta, 5.30 beta 1, etc.)
A user is affected if WinRAR is installed and the installed version is 5.30 or any version prior to 5.30 beta 5.
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 dataUpdate WinRAR to version 5.30 beta 5 or later. Exercise caution when executing files extracted from untrusted archives.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,424.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2015-5663 — 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-2015-5663 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
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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