CVE-2018-8453

Summary

CVECVE-2018-8453
StatePUBLISHED
Assignermicrosoft
Source PriorityCVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback
Published2018-10-10 13:29:02 UTC
Updated2026-08-13 05:17:19 UTC
DescriptionAn 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.

Risk And Classification

Primary CVSS: v3.1 7.8 HIGH from [email protected]

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS: 0.700420000 probability, percentile 0.993170000 (date 2026-08-13)

CISA KEV: Listed on 2022-01-21; due 2022-07-21; ransomware use Known

Problem Types: NVD-CWE-noinfo | Elevation of Privilege | CWE-noinfo Not enough information


VersionSourceTypeScoreSeverityVector
3.1[email protected]Primary7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1ADPDECLARED7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
3.1134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0Secondary7.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
2.0[email protected]Primary7.2AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CVSS v3.1 Breakdown

Attack Vector
Local
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 Breakdown

Access Vector
Local
Access Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

VendorMicrosoft
ProductWin32k
NameMicrosoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Required ActionApply updates per vendor instructions.
Noteshttps://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8453

NVD Known Affected Configurations (CPE 2.3)

TypeVendorProductVersionUpdateEditionLanguage
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1507 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1607 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1703 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1709 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1803 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 1809 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 7 - sp1 All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows 8.1 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Rt 8.1 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 1709 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 1803 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2008 - sp2 All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2008 r2 sp1 All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2012 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2012 r2 All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2016 - All All All
Operating System Microsoft Windows Server 2019 - All All All

Vendor Declared Affected Products

SourceVendorProductVersionPlatforms
CNA Microsoft Windows 7 affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 7 affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 affected (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows RT 8.1 affected Windows RT 8.1 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 affected Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2019 affected (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2012 affected (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 8.1 affected 32-bit systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 8.1 affected x64-based systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2016 affected (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 affected Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1607 for x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1703 for x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1709 for x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1803 for x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1809 for 32-bit Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected Version 1809 for x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 affected x64-based Systems Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 Servers affected version 1709 (Server Core Installation) Not specified
CNA Microsoft Windows 10 Servers affected version 1803 (Server Core Installation) Not specified

References

ReferenceSourceLinkTags
portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8453 af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 portal.msrc.microsoft.com Patch, Vendor Advisory
Windows Kernel Lets Local Users Gain Elevated Privileges - SecurityTracker af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securitytracker.com Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0 www.cisa.gov US Government Resource
Microsoft Windows Kernel 'Win32k.sys' CVE-2018-8453 Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 www.securityfocus.com Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Microsoft Windows NtUserSetWindowFNID Win32k User Callback ≈ Packet Storm af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 packetstormsecurity.com Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry
Zero-day exploit (CVE-2018-8453) used in targeted attacks | Securelist af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108 securelist.com Exploit, Technical Description, Third Party Advisory
CVE Program record CVE.ORG www.cve.org canonical
NVD vulnerability detail NVD nvd.nist.gov canonical, analysis
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog CISA www.cisa.gov kev

Additional Advisory Data

SourceTimeEvent
ADP2022-01-21T00:00:00.000ZCVE-2018-8453 added to CISA KEV

© CVE.report 2026

Use of this information constitutes acceptance for use in an AS IS condition. There are NO warranties, implied or otherwise, with regard to this information or its use. Any use of this information is at the user's risk. It is the responsibility of user to evaluate the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information, opinion, advice or other content. EACH USER WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY consequences of his or her direct or indirect use of this web site. ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND ARE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMED. This site will NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT or any other kind of loss.

CVE, CWE, and OVAL are registred trademarks of The MITRE Corporation and the authoritative source of CVE content is MITRE's CVE web site. This site includes MITRE data granted under the following license.

Free CVE JSON API cve.report/api

CVE.report and Source URL Uptime Status status.cve.report