Assessment
Why it matters
CISA lists this vulnerability as known to be exploited; exploitation is confirmed; EPSS is 73.7%; technical severity is CVSS 7.0.
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.
Who should care
- Teams operating Win32k, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008
- Vulnerability and exposure management teams
- Security operations teams monitoring exploitation activity
Response plan
What I would do
- Confirm whether Win32k, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 is present in the environment.
- Identify affected versions and establish whether vulnerable services are exposed or reachable.
- Microsoft Security patch CVE-2018-8120
- Review relevant security telemetry for evidence of attempted or successful exploitation.
- Document the remediation decision and track it to verified completion.
Treatment intelligence
Remediation intelligence
Vendor sources are listed before government and third-party guidance. Confirm product applicability and change prerequisites before deployment.
Verification noteAutomated link verification has not completed for this guidance yet.
Technical details
- CVSS vector
- CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
- CWE
- CWE-404
- Affected versions
- Microsoft Win32k; Microsoft Windows 7 (Version -); Microsoft Windows Server 2008 (Version - | Version r2 | Version r2)
- Fixed versions
- No explicit fixed version is currently recorded.
- Published
- 9 May 2018
- Attack vector
- Local
- Privileges required
- Low
- User interaction
- None
Signal timeline
- CVE published
- Added to CISA KEV
- Latest EPSS score: 73.7%
- Signal calculated at 82