CVE-2023-38831
RARLAB WinRAR: Code Execution
As of , CVE-2023-38831 in RARLAB WinRAR is on CISA's list of exploited vulnerabilities: CISA listed it on . Our patch-first group: Patch this week.
- Exploited
- Yes: CISA listed it on 24 August 2023
- US federal deadline
- 14 September 202321 days after CISA listed it. US federal civilian agencies must fix it by then.
- Used in ransomware campaigns
- Known
- EPSS score
- 0.99Higher than 99% of the CVEs EPSS scores. EPSS estimates the chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days.
- EPSS when listed
- 0.00 on 24 August 2023EPSS on the day CISA listed it.
- Public exploit
- 1 Metasploit module
- Fix
- No vendor link in CISA's entry
What CISA says to do
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA's required action
What the flaw is
RARLAB WinRAR contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive.
CISA's description
RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the benign file, and the contents of the folder (which may include executable content) are processed during an attempt to access only the benign file. This was exploited in the wild in April through October 2023.
The CVE record's description, from mitre
- CVE published
- 23 August 2023
- Assigned by
- mitre
- CVSS
- 7.8 High (CVSS 3.1, from CISA-ADP)
- CWE-351
- Insufficient Type Distinction
- CISA SSVC, exploitation
- active
- CISA SSVC, automatable
- no
- CISA SSVC, technical impact
- total
Timeline
- The CVE record was published.
- CISA added it to its list of exploited vulnerabilities.
- The US federal deadline to fix it.
Public exploits
Facts from Metasploit's module list and Exploit-DB's index; we never copy exploit code.
- Metasploit: WinRAR CVE-2023-38831 Exploitexploit module, rank excellent
WinRAR: other exploited entries
| Vulnerability | Product | Our group | Listed | Deadline | EPSS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2018-20250Absolute Path Traversal | RARLAB WinRAR | Patch this weekRansomware use; Metasploit module; EPSS 0.96; verified Exploit-DB entry | 0.96 | ||
| CVE-2025-6218Path Traversal | RARLAB WinRAR | Patch this weekEPSS 0.90 | 0.90 | ||
| CVE-2025-8088Path Traversal | RARLAB WinRAR | Patch this weekRansomware use; EPSS 0.94 | 0.94 |
Read further
- CVE recordcve.org
- NVD entrynvd.nist.gov
- CISA's catalogcisa.gov
- EPSS for this CVEapi.first.org