CVE-2025-3445 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Path Traversal vulnerability in github.com/mholt/archiver. The records list no fixed version yet; check the vendor advisory below and apply the mitigations in the meantime.
mholt/archiver Vulnerable to Path Traversal via Crafted ZIP File
Exploitation Status
No confirmed exploitation observed yet
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
- CISA’s own triage has not observed active exploitation or public proof-of-concept code for this CVE as of its last assessment.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2025-3445.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
Where this sits among everything scored
Real-World Exposure
github.com/mholt/archiver🐹github.com/mholt/archiver/v3Real-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
A Path Traversal "Zip Slip" vulnerability has been identified in mholt/archiver in Go. This vulnerability allows using a crafted ZIP file containing path traversal symlinks to create or overwrite files with the user's privileges or application utilizing the library.
When using the archiver.Unarchive functionality with ZIP files, like this: archiver.Unarchive(zipFile, outputDir), A crafted ZIP file can be extracted in such a way that it writes files to the affected system with the same privileges as the application executing this vulnerable functionality. Consequently, sensitive files may be overwritten, potentially leading to privilege escalation, code execution, and other severe outcomes in some cases.
It's worth noting that a similar vulnerability was found in TAR files (CVE-2024-0406). Although a fix was implemented, it hasn't been officially released, and the affected project has since been deprecated. The successor to mholt/archiver is a new project called mholt/archives, and its initial release (v0.1.0) removes the Unarchive() functionality.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/mholt/archiver | all versions | No fix |
| 🐹Go | github.com/mholt/archiver/v3 | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/mholt/archiver, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Remediation status
The records we use list no patched version of github.com/mholt/archiver for CVE-2025-3445. Check the maintainer's advisory, and where your build allows, override or pin the dependency away from the vulnerable range.
Mitigate without a patch
Resolve every user-supplied path to its canonical form and reject anything that escapes the intended directory, and run the component under an account that has no read or write access outside the directory it legitimately serves.
Fixing This On Your OS
If you run this on a Linux distribution, patch through your package manager against the distro's own security advisory below — it tracks the exact backported fix for your release, which can ship on a different timeline (and sometimes a different severity) than the upstream project.
While the "Zip Slip" vulnerability in mholt/archiver has severe implications, it is categorized as important rather than critical due to its reliance on specific conditions for exploitation. Successful exploitation requires the application to process untrusted ZIP input and extract it using the vulnerable Unarchive()…
Mitigation for this issue is either not available or the currently available options do not meet the Red Hat Product Security criteria comprising ease of use and deployment, applicability to widespread installation base or stability.Source: Red Hat security advisory for CVE-2025-3445 (CC BY 4.0)
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2025-3445 in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.