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CVE

CVE-2018-8453

Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Win32k component fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.

HIGH · CVSS 7.8 ⚠ CISA KEV EPSS 0.81325 Ransomware: known
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  • Listed on CISA KEV (known exploited in the wild)
  • Linked to known ransomware campaigns
  • SSVC exploitation status: active
  • EPSS ≥ 0.50 - high probability of exploitation in the next 30 days
  • EPSS percentile: top 1% of all CVEs by exploitation likelihood
  • Public exploit or PoC is available
  • CVSS base score ≥ 7.0
Sigma rules10 YARA rules0
⬢

Required Remediation

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

◆

Threat Actors Linked

2
actorREvil
actorStealth Falcon
▤

Affected Products & Versions

15
microsoft windows 10 1507all versions
microsoft windows 10 1607all versions
microsoft windows 10 1703all versions
microsoft windows 10 1709all versions
microsoft windows 10 1803all versions
microsoft windows 10 1809all versions
microsoft windows 7all versions
microsoft windows 8.1all versions
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Public Exploits & PoCs

3
localMicrosoft Windows - NtUserSetWindowFNID Win32k User Callback Privilege Escalation (Metasploit)verified
pocpacketstormsecurity.com · Microsoft-Windows-NtUserSetWindowFNID-Win32k-User-Callbac...packetstormsecurity.com
pocsecurelist.com · cve-2018-8453-used-in-targeted-attacksecurelist.com
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Sigma Hunt Rules

10
Exact rules name this CVE ID. Product rules name an affected product in their title. Related rules cover techniques used by actors who exploited this CVE. Showing the most relevant matches; the complete related set is on the full drill-down.
relatedcriticalAntivirus Password Dumper Detection
relatedcriticalHacktool Execution - Imphash
relatedcriticalHackTool - Rubeus Execution
relatedcriticalPotential Credential Dumping Via LSASS Process Clone
relatedcriticalWCE wceaux.dll Access
relatedcriticalHackTool - Dumpert Process Dumper Default File
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Scoring & Timeline

7.8
HIGH · CVSS v3.1 · secure@microsoft.com
View on NVD
Attack Vector
Network Adjacent Local Physical
Attack Complexity
Low High
Privileges Required
None Low High
User Interaction
None Required
Scope
Unchanged Changed
Confidentiality
None Low High
Integrity
None Low High
Availability
None Low High
Published to NVD10 Oct 2018 · 01:29 PM
CVSS VectorCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
SSVC triage · cisa-vulnrichment
Exploitation
active
Automatable
no
Technical impact
total
SSVC asks the questions that actually drive patch urgency: is it being exploited, can attacks be automated, and how total is the impact.
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Vendor Advisories

3
cisaKEV-CVE-2018-8453
msrcCVE-2018-8453Elevation of Privilege
ctid-attack-flowctid-attack-flow-corpus-REvil.afb
🔗

References & Sources

4
Source URLs (vendor pages, mailing lists, write-ups). Exploit/PoC links are in their own section above to avoid duplication.
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105467Broken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1041828Broken LinkThird Party AdvisoryVDB Entry
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8453PatchVendor Advisory
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-8453US Government Resource
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