CVE-2025-6218
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 · uneditedRARLAB 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.
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 contains a directory traversal vulnerability in its archive extraction logic. Attackers can craft malicious archive files containing file paths with traversal sequences (e.g., ../../) that cause the extraction process to write files outside the intended destination directory, potentially overwriting system files or achieving code execution in the context of the current user.
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< 7.12CVSS 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:3.0/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate WinRAR installation and versionOpen Registry Editor and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\WinRAR or check C:\Program Files\WinRAR\ for the installation folder. Right-click winrar.exe, select Properties, and view the Details tab for the version number. Alternatively, run 'winrar' from command line with no arguments to display version info, or use PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'C:\Program Files\WinRAR\winrar.exe' | Select-Object VersionInfoAffected if Installed version is lower than 7.12 (e.g., 7.11, 7.10, 6.x, 5.x, etc.)
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Identify startup folder modificationsCheck the user startup folder (shell:startup) and system startup locations (HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run) for any unexpected executable files or scripts placed there. Inspect the contents of %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup for unknown filesAffected if New or unexpected executable files appear in startup locations that were not placed there by legitimate software installations
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Review extraction artifacts outside target foldersSearch the file system for recently created files in unexpected directories, particularly in Windows system folders (C:\Windows\System32, C:\Windows\SysWOW64), user profile directories, or startup folders. Use File Explorer search or PowerShell: Get-ChildItem C:\ -Recurse -File | Where-Object { $_.LastWriteTime -gt (Get-Date).AddDays(-7) } | Select-Object FullName, LastWriteTime (adjust date range as needed)Affected if Executable or script files exist in directories outside of any recently extracted archive destinations
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Detect path traversal in archive filenamesIf you have access to any RAR archives that may be untrusted or were opened recently, inspect their contents using WinRAR by opening the archive and examining the file list. Look for filenames containing '../' or '..\' sequences. Alternatively, use the command line: rar l -p- <archive.rar> to list contents and check for unusual path patternsAffected if Any RAR archive contains filenames with path traversal sequences pointing outside the intended extraction directory
A system is affected if WinRAR version 7.11 or lower is installed AND there is evidence of untrusted RAR archive extraction or suspicious file placement in startup or system directories.
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.
dbcve · scoped7.12
Update WinRAR to the latest version available from RARLAB to obtain the vendor patch. Until patched, refrain from opening archive files from untrusted sources.
WinRAR 7.12
- Navigate to the official WinRAR website (www.win-rar.com) and download WinRAR version 7.12 or later
- Uninstall the current version of WinRAR from your system
- Install the newly downloaded WinRAR 7.12 or later version
- Verify the installation by opening WinRAR and checking Help > About WinRAR to confirm the version is 7.12 or higher
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $1,408.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2025-6218 — 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-2025-6218 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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- 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
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