Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2018-8120
CVE-2018-8120
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Win32k vulnerability
A privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows Win32k component due to improper memory object handling. Actively exploited in the wild and associated with ransomware campaigns.
Verdict
Today item, not a backlog item.
This vulnerability enables local attackers to escalate privileges on affected Windows systems. Active exploitation and ransomware association indicate significant real-world risk despite no CVSS score assignment.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-154Ransomware use Flagged4EPSS 0.73721 (verify live)5Exploit Public PoC6CVSS 7 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: total3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
16 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-15), flagged for known ransomware use.
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.73721 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 7 (CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Microsoft, Win32k. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-404 CWE-404 — weakness family: Resource / availability.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 1406 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
Gain initial code execution on target Windows system through separate vector
Business
Attacker establishes foothold with limited privileges
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
Trigger Win32k memory object handling flaw to escalate to system-level privileges
Business
Attacker obtains unrestricted control of compromised host
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
Deploy ransomware payload with elevated privileges across system and network
Business
Organization experiences widespread encryption of critical data and operational shutdown
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05