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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2018-8120

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2022-03-15 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2018-05-09
  • WeaknessCWE-404

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

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 Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8124, CVE-2018-8164, CVE-2018-8166.

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2018-05-0919:29CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2018-10-22Exploit-DB entryExploit-DB
  3. 2022-03-15Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  4. 2022-03-15Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  5. 2022-03-15Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  6. 2025-02-0716:26SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-11-03 15:37 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-8120?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2018-8120?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Microsoft windows server 2008
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published
—= r2no fix published
Microsoft windows 7
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Products declared by the CNA3 products

As microsoft, the CNA that assigned this CVE, declared them in the CVE record; versions as written.

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008
    Affected
    • = 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2no fix stated
    • = 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)no fix stated
    • = Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2no fix stated
    • = x64-based Systems Service Pack 2no fix stated
    • = x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)no fix stated
  • Microsoft Windows 7
    Affected
    • = 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1no fix stated
    • = x64-based Systems Service Pack 1no fix stated
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2
    Affected
    • = Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1no fix stated
    • = x64-based Systems Service Pack 1no fix stated
    • = x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)no fix stated

Source: the CNA record (CVE Program), © The MITRE Corporation,CVE Terms of UseCVE recordupdated 2018-10-24

Fix

  1. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-04-05

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-11-02 22:42 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
EDB-45653
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
10 repositories, unverifiedbigric3/cve-2018-8120rip1s/CVE-2018-8120ne1llee/cve-2018-8120alpha1ab/CVE-2018-8120EVOL4/CVE-2018-8120
PoC-in-GitHub
Metasploit modules
1 moduleexploit/windows/local/ms18_8120_win32k_privescrank: goodModule metadata: Metasploit Framework, © Rapid7, Inc., BSD-3-Clause.
Metasploit Framework

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2022-03-15
Patch Due Date
2022-04-05
Ransomware Use
Known
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Identifiers

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2018-05-09
Last Modified
2026-08-13
NVD status
Analyzed
GitHub Advisory
GHSA-v82r-2hh9-72g8

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2018-8120?

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 Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8124, CVE-2018-8164, CVE-2018-8166.

Is CVE-2018-8120 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2018-8120 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-04-05.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2018-8120?

CVE-2018-8120 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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