# CVE-2014-9983: Path traversal in n/a

> Remote attackers can write to arbitrary files via crafted archives due to symlink following during unpacking in the RAR library.

- **Severity:** Medium 5.5 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 4 Jun 2017
- **Updated:** 6 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2014-9983, GHSA-4mq8-gv5p-mwm4, UBUNTU-CVE-2014-9983

## What is CVE-2014-9983?

CVE-2014-9983 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 4 Jun 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Directory Traversal exists in RAR 4.x and 5.x because an unpack operation follows any symlinks, including symlinks contained in the archive. This allows remote attackers to write to arbitrary files via a crafted archive.

Weakness: CWE-22 (Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2014-9983?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Rarlab Rar.

## How do I fix CVE-2014-9983?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2014-9983 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-9983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in n/a

- [CVE-2025-14111](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2025-14111/): Rarlab RAR App com.rarlab.rar path traversal (low 2.3)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2014-9983 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2014-9983 is a medium-severity path traversal vulnerability in n/a, published on 4 Jun 2017. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2014-9983 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: n/a. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9983/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9983/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2014-9983
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2014-9983
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2014-9983

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-9983/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.