CVE-2018-8453

HIGH7.8

CISA KEV

Published 2018-10-10 · Updated 2026-08-13 · Source secure@microsoft.com

Summary

CVE-2018-8453 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Microsoft Win32k. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on January 21, 2022, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by July 21, 2022. CISA also lists it as known to be used in ransomware campaigns, so it should be prioritised accordingly. Microsoft has 390 vulnerabilities in the KEV catalog, 117 of them linked to ransomware.

All 390 known-exploited Microsoft vulnerabilities →

Description

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.

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

CISA Known-Exploited Vulnerability

Product: Microsoft — Win32k

Name: Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Date added: 2022-01-21 · Due: 2022-07-21

USED IN RANSOMWARE

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

References

View on NVD

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