CVE-2023-38831: RARLAB WinRAR Code Execution Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 24 Aug 2023, 1 day after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 99.8%
EPSS score, percentile 100 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 7.8 High
CVSS v3.1 base score, from CISA's enrichment of the record
- What should I do?
Required action (CISA), due 14 Sep 2023: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
- Which versions are affected?
Not stated. The CVE record gives vendor and product as “n/a” and the version as “unspecified”.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: 14 September 2023.
Advisories and patches
The CVE record links no vendor advisory, patch or mitigation.
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
- http://www.win-rar.com/singlenewsview.html?&L=0&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=232&cHash=c5bf79590657e32554c6683296a8e8aa
- https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-38831
Affected products and versions
The CVE record does not name affected products or versions: vendor and product are “n/a” and the version is “unspecified”.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
About this vulnerability
RARLAB WinRAR contains an unspecified vulnerability that allows an attacker to execute code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA added CVE-2023-38831 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 24 Aug 2023.
- CISA marks it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 14 Sep 2023.
- The CVE record was published on 23 Aug 2023, 1 day before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v3.1 base score of 7.8 (High), taken from CISA's enrichment of the record.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 99.8% (percentile 100), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of 28 Oct 2026; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Description
RARLAB WinRAR before 6.23 allows attackers to execute arbitrary code when a user attempts to view a benign file within a ZIP archive. The issue occurs because a ZIP archive may include a benign file (such as an ordinary .JPG file) and also a folder that has the same name as the benign file, and the contents of the folder (which may include executable content) are processed during an attempt to access only the benign file. This was exploited in the wild in April through October 2023.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of 28 Oct 2026. About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-351: Insufficient Type Distinction
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 23 Aug 2023 | CVE record published |
| 24 Aug 2023 | Added to CISA KEV |
| 14 Sep 2023 | CISA due date for the required action |
| 5 Aug 2026 | CVE record last updated |
References
More exploited RARLAB vulnerabilities
- CVE-2025-6218: RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2025-8088: RARLAB WinRAR Path Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2022-30333: RARLAB UnRAR Directory Traversal Vulnerability
- CVE-2018-20250: WinRAR Absolute Path Traversal Vulnerability