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7-Zip 26.03 Released

The Update Offers The Mark-of-the-Web Security Fix Plus ISO and Archive Improvements.

7-Zip, the free and open-source file archiver relied on by millions of Windows users, has shipped version 26.03. This update closes a security hole involving the Mark-of-the-Web flag and sharpens support for a couple of common archive formats. If you regularly extract downloaded ZIP, ISO, or 7z files, this is a worthwhile update to grab.

What's New in 7-Zip 26.03

  • Security fix (CVE-2026-58052): 7-Zip previously failed to preserve the Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) flag when extracting a specially crafted archive. MotW is the flag Windows uses to warn you that a file came from the internet before you open it — losing it on extraction meant malicious files could slip past that warning. This is now fixed.
  • Improved Joliet ISO image support: Better handling of Joliet-format ISO images, a common format for optical disc images and disc-image downloads.
  • Improved Compound archive support: Refinements to how 7-Zip reads Compound File Binary format archives (used by some older Microsoft file types).
  • General bug fixes alongside the security patch.

Why It Matters

Given that the fixed vulnerability directly affects Windows' built-in "this file came from the internet" safeguard, this is a security-relevant update rather than just a routine bug-fix release. Anyone using 7-Zip to open downloaded archives should update promptly.

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about author

I am a technology writer for UpdateStar, covering software, security, and privacy as well as research and innovation in information security. I worked as an editor for German computer magazines for more than a decade before starting to be a team member at UpdateStar.

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