CVE-2025-8088: RARLAB WinRAR (High, CVSS 8.4)
- CVSS
- 8.4 High (v4.0)
- EPSS
- 94% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days (higher than 99.8% of CVEs)
- Exploited in the wild
- Yes, on CISA’s KEV list since Aug 12, 2025; used by ransomware
- Public exploit
- Yes, reported in 30 GitHub repositories
- Weakness
- CWE-35
- 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- Published
- Aug 8, 2025
- CISA fix-by date
- Sep 2, 2025 (for US federal agencies)
What it is
A path traversal vulnerability affecting the Windows version of WinRAR allows the attackers to execute arbitrary code by crafting malicious archive files. This vulnerability was exploited in the wild and was discovered by Anton Cherepanov, Peter Košinár, and Peter Strýček from ESET.
Description from the National Vulnerability Database.
What to do
CISA: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
Check whether you run RARLAB WinRAR, then apply the vendor’s fix or mitigation from the advisories below. Because this flaw is exploited or has public exploit code, treat it as urgent and check for signs of compromise, not just the patch level.
Advisories and fixes
ThreatRoundup coverage
Gorbag Turns a WinRAR Bug on Ukraine’s Police and Front-Line Councils
Sources: NVD, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, and public exploit databases (availability only). ThreatRoundup reports whether public exploit code exists but never links to it: fake proof-of-concepts that infect security researchers are common. This page updates automatically.