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CVE-2018-8589
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of…
High7.8Known exploitedEPSS 3.0%
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- microsoft
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.
Exploited in the wild
CISA lists this vulnerability in its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability.
- Added
- 23 May 2022
- Fix due (US federal)
- 13 Jun 2022
- Used by ransomware
- Not known
Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| CISA-ADPADP (enrichment) | 3.1 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Analyzed | 3.1 | High7.8 | CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 3.0% · top 12% of all CVEs (5 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
Loading the EPSS history…
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.8.
Weakness
- Elevation of Privilege
- CWE-noinfo Not enough information
Affected products
Microsoft · Windows Server 2008
- affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
- affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
- affected Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 2
- affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
- affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
- affected 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
- affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Microsoft · Windows Server 2008 R2
- affected Itanium-Based Systems Service Pack 1
- affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
- affected x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
References (4)
- 105796 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_BIDx_transferred
- 1042140 (opens in a new tab)vdb-entryx_refsource_SECTRACKx_transferred
- https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8589 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-8589 (opens in a new tab)government-resource
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- CISA KEV catalog (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2018-8589)Record last updated .