Score:3

Extracting winrar unlimited file size till disk is full

ec flag

When using the default archive manager (pictogram of the default archive manager for ubuntu) and trying to extract small files (< 1mB) the files keep getting bigger and bigger until the disk is full. What I mean by this is it keeps extracting and the extracted file keeps growing.

So if I try to extract a 100 kB file it starts at 1 gB and ends up at 80 gB.

Normal zips work fine.

My system:

  • Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS
  • GNOME 3.36.8
Pilot6 avatar
cn flag
The question is totally unclear. Are you using Ubuntu? Which version? What do you mean by "files getting bigger"? Why are you using winrar? Is it installed using wine?
Laurent Dhont avatar
ec flag
@Pilot6 Yes, sorry. Its indeed a vague question. I will add my system and try to clarify. I will attach such a rar file soon.
AlexOnLinux avatar
ng flag
for me this sound to be something like a zip bomb https://www.bamsoftware.com/hacks/zipbomb/ perhaps the default achive manager handles thhat zip bomb differently than the cli tool?
Laurent Dhont avatar
ec flag
@AlexOnLinux Okay, thank you. What can I do about it? I read about it and its not malicious at all so its probably just a defect. On windows all is fine.
AlexOnLinux avatar
ng flag
@laurent-dhont I don't know. Perhaps not extract it? A zip bomb is malicious. Its intention is to fill up your disk and render your OS unusable. What should that zip file contain that a 100kb file becomes as giant as 80gb? Even a word list would be bigger than 100kb. Especially if it grows unpacked beyond 80GB.
Laurent Dhont avatar
ec flag
@AlexOnLinux I am very certain it is not malicious. Its just a file from a colleague and on windows there is no problem with extracting it. I now also tried with just random winrar files and its the same problem.
AlexOnLinux avatar
ng flag
Sorry I have no clue
Score:2
za flag

I had exactly the same issue with the default file manager on Ubuntu 20.04 and a RAR file that was certainly not malicious.

I fixed it by using another RAR extractor, the one I used was xextractor :

sudo apt-get install xextractor rar unrar

Once installed you can simply open up xextractor from the application list, open up your archive and extract it ! I imagine it would work with other archive managers as well.

Score:1
ng flag

The other answer suggested installing and using xextractor which is not available on Ubuntu 20.04.3 LTS. For me just installing unrar package solved the problem:

sudo apt install unrar

Then try again, it worked for me.

es flag
Archive Manager and/or nautilus file explorer must be restarted before this works.
mangohost

Post an answer

Most people don’t grasp that asking a lot of questions unlocks learning and improves interpersonal bonding. In Alison’s studies, for example, though people could accurately recall how many questions had been asked in their conversations, they didn’t intuit the link between questions and liking. Across four studies, in which participants were engaged in conversations themselves or read transcripts of others’ conversations, people tended not to realize that question asking would influence—or had influenced—the level of amity between the conversationalists.