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VulnerabilityPublished Updated

CVE-2018-8639: Microsoft Windows 7 · Elevation of Privilege

Affects Microsoft Windows 7Source CVE Database V5

0

Mentioned vulnerabilities

Exploited in the wild · used in ransomware campaigns · KEV due 24 Mar 2025 · 22% EPSS : apply the vendor's fix or mitigations to Microsoft Windows 7 now.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 17:16 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
8.4High
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
KEV deadline
 US federal agencies must patch by this date; a sensible deadline for everyone else. Other KEV due dates
Ransomware
Used in ransomware campaigns
EPSS
22.1% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 97% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Exploitation evidence

t = 0 is the CVE’s publication on cve.org

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 12 Dec 2018

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: evidence found.

    Listed in CISA KEV 6.2 years after disclosure

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

Timeline

  1. CVE ID reserved

    by Microsoft Corporation

    , 273 days before disclosure

  2. CVE published

    on cve.org

    , t = 0

  3. Added to CISA KEV (opens in a new tab)

    exploitation confirmed · ransomware use known

    , 6.2 years after disclosure

  4. KEV remediation due

    US federal deadline

    , 6.3 years after disclosure

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), CISA KEV (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

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 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8641.

References

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