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WinRAR security issue directly affects millions of Windows users in the country and the government is warning them about it.
WinRAR works on Windows systems to let you extract files. (Photo: AI generated)
WinRar, one of the popular tools used to extract large files on PCs, is facing a major security issue and the Indian government is alerting users about it. The vulnerabilities are critical enough to let people know that using the tool could affect their systems and let the hackers gain control to steal data and or even block its access.
WinRAR primarily works on Windows so you can directly link the issues to millions of Windows 10 and 11 users in the country. The new security alert from the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) this week clearly highlights the concerns and gives users the right advice.
WinRAR Security Risk: What The Govt Says
The CERT-In security alert dated August 12, 2025 comes with a high severity warning and explains the problems related to WinRAR. “This vulnerability exists due to insecure handling of directories and Alternate Data Streams (ADS) in specially crafted RAR archives, enabling directory traversal. An attacker could exploit this to place hidden executable or shortcut files in Windows Startup folders, leading to execution at system startup or user login.”
The risks linked to WinRAR can be targeted at anybody using the app on their Windows system and we assume it will be a lot of people. The security agency has also detailed the WinRAR versions affected by the risks:
- WinRAR for Windows (all versions up to and including 7.12)
- Windows versions of RAR, UnRAR, portable UnRAR source code, and UnRAR.dll
The concerns around the software are genuine because the developer is worried about one of the issues to have been actively exploited in the wild, which means they don’t know the how and who of the situation.
Thankfully, WinRAR has reported about the security issues and has worked behind the scenes to fix these risks. The developer says all WinRAR users should update to WinRAR version 7.13 or later versions.
One important thing that people should know is that WinRAR does not support automatic updates. So, everyone using the app will need to install the latest version manually to secure their systems right away.
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr…Read More
S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr… Read More
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