Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
A crafted ZIP can show a harmless-looking filename in WinRAR while extracting and launching a different embedded file. The business risk is malware execution after a user opens and trusts an archive. Public exploit material exists, but the provided sources do not show confirmed active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority hygiene issue where legacy WinRAR remains installed. The weakness depends on user interaction, but public exploit material and plausible phishing delivery make it relevant for endpoint risk reduction.
Technical view
The flaw comes from inconsistent ZIP Central Directory and Local File Header filenames. WinRAR displays one name but extracts and executes the other, enabling filename spoofing and potential code execution with user action. The supplied record rates it CVSS 8.4 and maps it to CWE-20 and CWE-434.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Windows endpoints using old WinRAR versions named in the record, including 3.80 and 4.11, especially where users open untrusted ZIP attachments or downloads. The title says WinRAR before 5.00, but the supplied affected list is narrower.
Exploitation context
The sources include public technical and exploit references, including a Metasploit module, so proof-of-concept capability is public. KEV is false in the bundle, and no cited source in the bundle confirms active exploitation in the wild.
Researcher notes
Do not infer current exploitation from exploit availability alone. The key research focus is confirming exact vulnerable versions from RARLab and CVE data, then validating whether endpoint controls detect misleading archive extraction and execution behavior.
Mitigation direction
- Inventory WinRAR installations and identify versions matching the supplied affected record.
- Update WinRAR according to RARLab vendor guidance or replace unsupported versions.
- Block or quarantine untrusted ZIP archives from email and web download paths where feasible.
- Educate users not to execute files from unexpected archives, even if names appear harmless.
- Review endpoint controls for archive extraction and executable launch monitoring.
Validation and detection
- Confirm installed WinRAR versions on managed endpoints and compare against vendor guidance.
- Test detection coverage using benign archive-handling scenarios, not weaponized samples.
- Review email, proxy, and EDR logs for suspicious archive-to-executable activity.
- Verify users cannot run executables from high-risk download locations where policy allows.
- Check vulnerability management data for stale WinRAR installations.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-20: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCWE-434: File access and web shell behavior lookup
File traversal and upload weaknesses can lead teams to review file, web shell, execution, and collection telemetry. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2014-125119 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- High
- CVSS
- 8.4 (4.0)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
SSVC decision data
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N——VulnCheckVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 4.0 score
8.4HighVector: CVSS:4.0/AV:L/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:A/VC:H/VI:H/VA:H/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N
Vulnerability timeline
Timeline events are normalized from CVE metadata, CNA source timelines, ADP timelines, and KEV metadata when present.
- CVE reservedCVE Program
The CVE ID was reserved by the assigning CNA.
- CVE publishedCVE Program
The CVE record was published.
- CVE updatedCVE Program
The CVE record metadata indicates this as the latest update time.
ADP provider summaries
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.rarlab.com/vuln_zip_spoofing_4.20.htmlCVE reference, VulnCheck · vendor-advisory
- https://an7isec.blogspot.com/2014/03/winrar-file-extension-spoofing-0day.htmlCVE reference, VulnCheck · technical-description, exploit
- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/master/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/winrar_name_spoofing.rbCVE reference, VulnCheck · exploit
- https://web.archive.org/web/20141111142204/https://www.intelcrawler.com/report_2603.pdfCVE reference, VulnCheck · technical-description
- https://web.archive.org/web/20140625054244/http://intelcrawler.com/news-15CVE reference, VulnCheck · technical-description, media-coverage
- https://www.vulncheck.com/advisories/winrar-filename-spoofing-rceCVE reference, VulnCheck · third-party-advisory
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Improper Input Validation
Improper Input Validation represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type
Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.