Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
WinRAR 5.60 and earlier can be compromised by a specially crafted LHA/LZH archive. If a user or business process opens such a file, code may run with that user’s privileges. The public bundle does not show KEV listing or confirmed active exploitation for this CVE.
Executive priority
Treat this as a high-priority endpoint exposure issue where WinRAR is deployed. Prioritize patching systems that receive external archives or process user-supplied files.
Technical view
CVE-2018-20253 is a CWE-787 out-of-bounds write in WinRAR’s LHA/LZH archive parsing. The stated impact is arbitrary code execution in the current user context. Affected versions are all WinRAR releases prior to and including 5.60. CVSS details are not provided in the bundle.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most likely on Windows endpoints or servers with WinRAR 5.60 or earlier installed, especially where users receive archives by email, web download, ticket uploads, or shared drives.
Exploitation context
Sources support crafted-archive code execution but do not identify active exploitation for this CVE. KEV is false in the provided data. Practical risk depends on whether vulnerable WinRAR builds handle untrusted LHA/LZH files.
Researcher notes
The bundle lacks CVSS scoring and detailed fixed-version text, but gives affected versions and impact. Do not infer active exploitation from this bundle. Focus validation on installed version, archive parsing paths, and user-context execution controls.
Mitigation direction
- Upgrade WinRAR beyond version 5.60 using vendor guidance.
- Remove WinRAR from systems where it is not required.
- Restrict handling of untrusted LHA/LZH archives.
- Apply endpoint controls that limit user-context code execution.
- Check vendor release notes for fixed-version details.
Validation and detection
- Inventory WinRAR versions across managed endpoints and servers.
- Flag any WinRAR installation at 5.60 or earlier.
- Confirm LHA/LZH file associations avoid vulnerable builds.
- Review archive ingestion paths for untrusted LHA/LZH files.
- Verify patch deployment through software inventory reporting.
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-787: 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 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-2018-20253 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.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.