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CVE-2001-1271: RAR extraction can let attackers overwrite files

CVE-2001-1271 · published 25 years ago

Summary

The RAR compression program (version 2.02 and earlier) can be tricked into writing over any file on your system when it extracts an archive that contains specially crafted file names. This could let an attacker replace important files with their own content. Upgrade to a newer version of RAR or avoid extracting archives from untrusted sources.

What to do

The CVE record does not list a fixed version. Check the vendor's site or the advisory links below - a fix may already be released.

Affected software

Vendor	Product	Affected versions
rarsoft	rar	<= 2.02 `cpe:2.3:a:rarsoft:rar::::::::`

Original advisory text

Directory traversal vulnerability in rar 2.02 and earlier allows attackers to overwrite arbitrary files during archive extraction via a .. (dot dot) attack on archived filenames.

References

http://online.securityfocus.com/archive/1/196445 Exploit Patch Vendor Advisory
http://www.security.nnov.ru/advisories/archdt.asp Exploit Vendor Advisory

Fix within

Internet-facing 60 days

Internal At next upgrade

Not known to be exploited
Needs hands-on effort to exploit (estimated)
Gives an attacker partial control (estimated)

Severity

2.1 Low

Exploitation

<1% chance of attack within 30 days

Timeline

Published12 Jul 2001

Updated4 Nov 2026

First seen29 Sep 2026

Sources

CVE-2001-1271 · NVD

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