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WinzipApplication

CVE-2024-8811

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-22
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 76.8 or later.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
WinZip Mark-of-the-Web Bypass Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass the Mark-of-the-Web protection mechanism on affected installations of WinZip. 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 archive files. When opening an archive that bears the Mark-of-the-Web, WinZip removes the Mark-of-the-Web from the archive file. Following extraction, the extracted files also lack the Mark-of-the-Web. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user. Was ZDI-CAN-23983.

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 confidence

WinZip fails to preserve the Mark-of-the-Web (MOTW) security flag when opening archived files. When a user opens an archive file downloaded from the internet (which carries the MOTW warning), WinZip strips this marker from both the archive and any extracted files. This allows attackers to deliver malicious executables that bypass Windows' MOTW security warnings, enabling arbitrary code execution in the current user's context.

MitigationUntil a vendor patch is available, refrain from opening archive files from untrusted sources, consider using alternative archive utilities that properly preserve MOTW, and implement additional endpoint protection controls to detect potentially malicious extracted executables.

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
WinzipApplication
Affected:< 76.8

CVSS 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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed WinZip version
    Open Windows Registry Editor and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\WinZip (or HKCU\Software\WinZip), or check 'Programs and Features' in Control Panel to find the installed version number
    Affected if The displayed version number is lower than 76.8 (e.g., 76.7, 76.0, earlier versions)
  2. Locate WinZip executable path
    Search for winzip.exe in Program Files folders or use 'where winzip.exe' in Command Prompt
    Affected if WinZip executable exists on the system at any version below 76.8
  3. Check if WinZip handles archive files
    Right-click any .zip file, select 'Open with' or check default file associations to see if WinZip is set as the default handler for archive files
    Affected if WinZip is the default application for opening .zip, .rar, or other archive types and version is below 76.8
  4. Verify MOTW preservation behavior (if test archive available)
    Download a test archive from the internet, note the MOTW flag using 'dir /R' or PowerShell 'Get-Item -Stream Zone.Identifier', extract files with WinZip, then check if extracted files still have the Zone.Identifier stream
    Affected if Extracted files lose the Zone.Identifier stream (MOTW) that was present on the original downloaded archive

You are affected if WinZip version 76.8 or higher is NOT installed AND you use WinZip to open archive files downloaded from the internet.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 76.8 or later
Fixed in 76.8
Interim mitigation

Until a vendor patch is available, refrain from opening archive files from untrusted sources, consider using alternative archive utilities that properly preserve MOTW, and implement additional endpoint protection controls to detect potentially malicious extracted executables.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Winzip 76.8 or later

  1. Backup any important WinZip files or configurations
  2. Download WinZip version 76.8 or later from the official WinZip website (www.winzip.com)
  3. Install the updated version of WinZip
  4. Verify the installed version is 76.8 or higher by checking WinZip > Help > About WinZip
  5. Test that Mark-of-the-Web is properly preserved by extracting files from a downloaded archive and checking the file properties

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Winzip Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,690
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2024-8811 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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