CVE-2025-6218

RARLAB WinRAR contains a directory traversal flaw (CWE-22) in its handling of file paths within archive files, allowing a crafted archive path to traverse to unintended directories during extraction. Exploitation requires user interaction: the target must open a malicious file (e.g., a booby-trapped archive) or visit a malicious page. A successful attacker executes arbitrary code in the context of the current user, yielding full high-impact code execution on the endpoint (CVSS 3.0: 7.8, local attack vector with required user interaction). Any installation running an affected version of RARLAB WinRAR is exposed; the specific affected version range is not stated in the source data, so defenders should confirm against RARLAB's advisory. The flaw is being actively exploited: CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-12-09, Google warned of active exploitation, public reporting ties the campaign to APT-C-08 and at least one other actor group, and EPSS stands at 90.5%.

What to do: Update WinRAR to the latest vendor release that addresses CVE-2025-6218 per RARLAB's advisory (the fixed version number is not provided in the source data), and treat this as urgent given the KEV listing and 90.5% EPSS. Warn users not to open archives from untrusted or unexpected sources, and inspect email-borne .rar/.zip attachments. Hunt for unusual child processes or file writes outside expected directories following archive extraction, and note U.S. federal civilian agencies must apply mitigations under BOD 22-01.