Security readout for executives and security teams
WinRAR versions through 5.61 can mishandle crafted ACE archives. A malicious archive filename can make the old ACE extraction component create empty files or folders outside the intended extraction location. This is not confirmed here as active exploitation, but it matters where users or automated workflows process untrusted archives. Exposure is most likely on Windows endpoints, help desks, shared workstations, or automated intake systems using WinRAR 5.61 or earlier to open ACE archives, especially archives from email, web downloads, or external submissions. Treat this as a near-term endpoint hygiene issue. Prioritize systems that process external archives or support users likely to open compressed attachments. The business risk is lower than confirmed remote code execution, but broad WinRAR deployment can make cleanup operationally important. Mitigation focus: Upgrade WinRAR to a vendor-supported release newer than 5.61.; Review WinRAR vendor release notes for ACE-related remediation guidance.; Remove or replace legacy WinRAR installations on managed endpoints..
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-693: 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 lookupFile access behavior lookup
The CVE wording references file access or upload behavior, so file telemetry and web shell review may help. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2018-20251 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
- Unknown
- CVSS
- Not scored
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
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.
CVSS and timeline data
No CVSS vectors or timeline events were available in the normalized CVE source material.
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://research.checkpoint.com/extracting-code-execution-from-winrar/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.win-rar.com/whatsnew.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
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.
Protection Mechanism Failure
Protection Mechanism Failure represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
