Cyber Resilience

CVE-2022-30333

Path Traversal in Rarlab Unrar ≤ 6.12

CISA KEVActive ExploitationEUVD ExploitedPublic PoCRansomware-linkedPath Traversal
Published
09 May 2022
Modified
04 August 2026
KEV Added
09 August 2022
Patch / advisory
CVSS Score v3.1 7.5
Click a component to see what it means
Raw vectorCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
EPSS Score 0.99 99.9th percentile
Risk Priority 84 floored blend · peak EPSS

Summary

CVE-2022-30333 is a high-severity Path Traversal (CWE-22) vulnerability in Rarlab Unrar. Its CVSS base score is 7.5 (High).

Operationally, exploitation aligns with the MITRE ATT&CK technique Path Interception (T1034); ranked in the top 0.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.

Deeper analysis AI-assisted summary

Synthesised by an AI model from the NVD description and linked references — a reading aid, not an authoritative source.

RARLAB UnRAR before version 6.12 on Linux and UNIX contains a directory traversal flaw that permits an archive to write files outside the intended extraction directory during unpack operations. The issue is tracked under CWE-22 and CWE-59 and carries a CVSS 3.1 score of 7.5. WinRAR and the Android RAR client are not affected.

An unauthenticated remote attacker can supply a malicious RAR archive that, when extracted by a vulnerable UnRAR binary, writes attacker-controlled content to arbitrary paths such as ~/.ssh/authorized_keys. This grants the ability to modify system files and achieve persistent access or code execution without any user interaction.

Debian and Gentoo advisories direct users to apply the upstream fix, while RARLAB published version 6.12 binaries that close the traversal vector. The referenced Zimbra disclosure further illustrates how the same flaw was chained into pre-authentication remote code execution when UnRAR processed attacker-supplied archives.

EPSS values have remained consistently high, with a recorded peak of 0.9573 and a current score of 0.9279, indicating sustained exploitation interest after public disclosure.

OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)

EU & UK References

Vulnerability Data

RARLAB UnRAR before 6.12 on Linux and UNIX allows directory traversal to write to files during an extract (aka unpack) operation, as demonstrated by creating a ~/.ssh/authorized_keys file. NOTE: WinRAR and Android RAR are unaffected.

CWE(s)
KEV Date Added
09 August 2022

Related Threats

MITRE ATT&CK Enterprise Techniques

T1034 Path Interception Persistence
**This technique has been deprecated.
T1190 Exploit Public-Facing Application Initial Access
Adversaries may attempt to exploit a weakness in an Internet-facing host or system to initially access a network.
T1547.009 Shortcut Modification Persistence
Adversaries may create or modify shortcuts that can execute a program during system boot or user login.
Derived from this CVE’s CWE(s) via the direct CWE→ATT&CK cross-walk.

CVEs Like This One

CVE-2020-36193Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2022-21999Shared CWE-22, CWE-59both on KEV
CVE-2024-57728Shared CWE-22, CWE-59both on KEV
CVE-2023-52623Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2024-47742Same product: Debian Debian Linux
CVE-2019-5418Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2016-0752Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2020-11652Same product: Debian Debian Linuxboth on KEV
CVE-2025-34028Same product: Linux Linux Kernelboth on KEV
CVE-2025-6218Same vendor: Rarlabboth on KEV

Affected Assets

rarlab
unrar
≤ 6.12
debian
debian linux
10.0

Mitigating Controls

Control response

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53)

Detect
Catch it (NIST detect / respond)

Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)

Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)
  • V5.3.2
  • V15.4.2

Likely Mitigating Controls AI

Per-CVE control mapping for this CVE has not run yet; the list below is derived from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry.

addresses: CWE-22

Validates pathnames and filenames to prevent traversal outside intended directories.

Mitigating Controls (NIST CSF 2.0) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→CSF cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

PR.PS-06 mostly match
prevents

Secure SDLC practices directly require code to validate paths and avoid unsafe link following.

PR.PS-02 partial match
prevents

Patching/maintenance can remediate known path-traversal flaws in deployed software (partial prevention of exploitability) but does nothing to stop the coding defect from being introduced in the first place.

PR.AA-05 none match
prevents

PR.AA-05 defines and reviews access policies but does not address code-level pathname neutralization, so neither direction prevents CWE-22.

Mitigating Controls (ISO/IEC 27001:2022 Annex A) AI

Derived directly from the weakness types (CWEs) cited in the NVD entry via our AI-authored CWE→ISO cross-walk (authority under review) — links open the control.

finds

Security testing in development catches path traversal via static/dynamic analysis.

prevents

Secure SDLC mandates input validation and path sanitization that directly prevent path traversal.

prevents

Application security requirements include rules for safe file handling and canonicalization.

prevents

Secure architecture principles require least-privilege file access and directory isolation.

prevents

Secure coding standards explicitly forbid unsafe path construction and mandate safe APIs.

mitigates

Information access restriction limits which files an application may read or write.

References