An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the Win32k component fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Win32k…

published 2018-05-09 8y ago modified 2026-08-13 2mo ago also EUVD-2018-19796

cvss: 7.0; version 3.1, CNA
cisa kev: Exploited; added 2022-03-15, used in ransomware
epss: 73.3%; EPSS 73.3% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 99.4%
public exploits: 2; Metasploit and Exploit-DB

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.

Patch / fix

cisa required action Apply updates per vendor instructions.

links 1

portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8120 advisory

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Timeline

2018-05-08 0-day patched (Project Zero)
2018-05-09 First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/windows/local/ms18_8120_win32k_privesc)
2018-05-09 Published
2022-03-14 CISA SSVC: exploitation active
2022-03-15 Added to CISA KEV
2022-04-05 CISA patch deadline

Known exploited

Added: 4y ago (2022-03-15)
Patch by: 2022-04-05 (4y ago)
Ransomware: Known to be used in ransomware campaigns
Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Vendor, product: Microsoft, Win32k
CISA name: Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Zero-day

Detected in real attacks while still unknown to the vendor and the public, per Google Project Zero's 0day In-the-Wild tracker.

Patched: 2018-05-08
Details: project zero tracker

CISA SSVC

Exploitation: Active, exploited in the wild
Automatable: no
Technical impact: total
Assessed: 4y ago (2022-03-14)

Exploit prediction

73.29% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.4% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

Metasploit exploit/windows/local/ms18_8120_win32k_privesc Windows SetImeInfoEx Win32k NULL Pointer Dereference metasploit exploit, good rank, 2018-05-09
EDB-45653 Microsoft Windows - SetImeInfoEx Win32k NULL Pointer Dereference (Metasploit) local, 2018-10-22

CVSS scores

assigned by	version	score	vector
CISA ADP	3.1	7.0	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	3.1	7.0	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CNA	3.1	7.0	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
NVD	2.0	7.2	AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Affected products

Microsoft Windows Server 2008
Microsoft Windows 7
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2

Classification

Weakness

CWE-404 Improper Resource Shutdown or Release

References

portal.msrc.microsoft.com /en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8120
patch, vendor-advisory
exploit-db.com /exploits/45653/
exploit, third-party-advisory, vdb-entry
securitytracker.com /id/1040849
vdb-entry, broken-link, third-party-advisory
securityfocus.com /bid/104034
vdb-entry, broken-link, third-party-advisory
cisa.gov /known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2018-8120
government-resource, us-government-resource

Sources

CVE List CVE-2018-8120
NVD CVE-2018-8120

Fencer Intel keeps one entry per vulnerability: the CVE id wins, then GHSA, and records that alias each other are merged, except that two CVEs always keep separate entries. The same data is available as JSON.