Have 7-Zip Installed? You Could Be at Risk

If you’re part of modern society, there’s a very good chance you’ve unzipped a file or two in your lifetime. 

It’s also a safe bet that, like everyone else on the planet, you don’t pay for your compression programs. Instead, you probably opt to use the open-source (and free to use) 7-Zip. 

And why not? It’s been a reliable tool for the past 20 years, made highly popular because of its simple, easy-to-understand design and lightning-fast decompression capabilities.

But recently, the Center for Internet Security (CIS) discovered a major flaw in the program that could cripple your system. 

Update Your 7-Zip Now 

Called “Arbitrary Code Execution,” this specific security flaw can allow external parties to install programs on your HDD or SDD without your knowledge.

External users would then theoretically have access to all of your personal files, with the added ability of gaining full access rights to your files and data by creating new user accounts. With all that control, they would also be able to create, alter, and even delete any file on your system. 

The flaw affects all versions of 7-Zip up to the latest 18.05 Patch. So it’s a good time to go update 7-Zip if you haven’t recently. 

According to CIS, there haven’t been any reports of third-parties actually taking advantage of the exploit, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.