CVE-2018-8589
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of…
- 7.8HighCVSS base score
- 3.0%Exploitation in 30 daysEPSS · top 12% of all CVEs
- YesKnown exploitedin CISA's KEV since 23 May 2022
- YesPublic exploitsa reference or SSVC says so
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.
ENISA's EU Vulnerability Database lists it as exploited, from CISA's KEV, since 23 May 2022.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: it is being exploited.
Timeline
ID reserved
By microsoft
- 8 months later
· 8 months later
Published
- 4 years later
· 4 years later
Added to CISA KEV
Known exploited in the wild
- 3 years later
· 3 years later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
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 (10 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical impact: total
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: High 7.8.
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)
- EUVD EUVD-2018-20204 (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://cveledger.app/cve/CVE-2018-8589)Record last updated .