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CVE-2018-8589

HIGH7.8
CISA KEV

Published 2018-11-14 · Updated 2026-06-17 · Source secure@microsoft.com

Summary

CVE-2018-8589 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in Microsoft Win32k. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on May 23, 2022, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed; US federal agencies had to remediate it by June 13, 2022. CISA does not currently list it as used in ransomware campaigns. 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 when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

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

CISA Known-Exploited Vulnerability

Product: Microsoft — Win32k

Name: Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Date added: 2022-05-23 · Due: 2022-06-13

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

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