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Fencer Intel
high 7.8

CVE-2018-8897 in the critical feed json

A statement in the System Programming Guide of the Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual (SDM) was mishandled in the…

published 2018-05-08 8 y ago modified 2026-06-17 4 mo ago also EUVD-2018-20505

cvss
7.8
version 3.0, NVD
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
18.5%
EPSS 18.5% chance of exploitation in 30 days, percentile 97%
public exploits
3
Metasploit, Exploit-DB

Summary

A statement in the System Programming Guide of the Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual (SDM) was mishandled in the development of some or all operating-system kernels, resulting in unexpected behavior for #DB exceptions that are deferred by MOV SS or POP SS, as demonstrated by (for example) privilege escalation in Windows, macOS, some Xen configurations, or FreeBSD, or a Linux kernel crash. The MOV to SS and POP SS instructions inhibit interrupts (including NMIs), data breakpoints, and single step trap exceptions until the instruction boundary following the next instruction (SDM Vol. 3A; section 6.8.3). (The inhibited data breakpoints are those on memory accessed by the MOV to SS or POP to SS instruction itself.) Note that debug exceptions are not inhibited by the interrupt enable (EFLAGS.IF) system flag (SDM Vol. 3A; section 2.3). If the instruction following the MOV to SS or POP to SS instruction is an instruction like SYSCALL, SYSENTER, INT 3, etc. that transfers control to the operating system at CPL < 3, the debug exception is delivered after the transfer to CPL < 3 is complete. OS kernels may not expect this order of events and may therefore experience unexpected behavior when it occurs.

Patch / fix

  • apple mac_os_x 10.13.4
  • freebsd freebsd 11.1
  • xen Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 4.8.3+xsa262+shim4.10.0+comet3-1+deb9u6
  • linux Debian 14, Debian 13, Debian 12 4.15.17-1

debian advisories DEBIAN-CVE-2018-8897

  • linux Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 3.13.0-147.196
  • linux Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.4.0-124.148
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 14.04 LTS 4.4.0-1019.19
  • linux-aws Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.4.0-1057.66
  • linux-gcp Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.13.0-1015.19
  • linux-hwe Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.13.0-41.46~16.04.1
  • linux-kvm Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.4.0-1023.28
  • linux-oem Ubuntu 16.04 LTS 4.13.0-1026.29

ubuntu advisories UBUNTU-CVE-2018-8897

Ubuntu security data © Canonical Ltd., from https://github.com/canonical/ubuntu-security-notices via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • redhat-virtualization-host RHEL 7 3.6-20180521.0.el7_3
  • redhat-virtualization-host-image-update RHEL 7 3.6-20180521.0.el7_3
  • rhev-hypervisor7 RHEL 6 7.3-20180521.1.el6ev
  • rhev-hypervisor7 RHEL 7 7.3-20180521.1.el7ev
  • kernel RHEL 7 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
  • perf RHEL 7 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
  • python-perf RHEL 7 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
  • kernel-kdump RHEL 7 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7

red hat advisories RHSA-2018:1710RHSA-2018:1711RHSA-2018:1318RHSA-2018:1352RHSA-2018:1353RHSA-2018:1347

  • xen SLES 12 SP2-BCL 4.7.5_02-43.30.1
  • kernel-syms SLES 12 SP2-BCL 4.4.121-92.73.1
  • kernel-source SLES 12 SP2-BCL 4.4.121-92.73.1
  • kernel-default SLES 12 SP2-BCL 4.4.121-92.73.1
  • kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP2_Update_21 SLES 12 SP2-BCL 1-3.3.1
  • kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP3_Update_10 SLE Live Patching 12 SP3 3-2.1
  • kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP3_Update_8 SLE Live Patching 12 SP3 4-2.1
  • kgraft-patch-SLE12-SP3_Update_9 SLE Live Patching 12 SP3 4-2.1

suse advisories SUSE-SU-2018:3230-1SUSE-SU-2018:1173-2SUSE-SU-2018:1636-1SUSE-SU-2018:1644-1SUSE-SU-2018:1639-1SUSE-SU-2018:1645-1

  • xen openSUSE Tumbleweed 4.15.1_01-1.2

opensuse advisories openSUSE-SU-2024:11520-1

  • xen Alpine 3.24, Alpine 3.23, Alpine 3.22 +12 more 4.10.1-r1
  • xen Alpine 3.4 4.6.6-r5
  • xen Alpine 3.5 4.7.3-r9
  • xen Alpine 3.6 4.8.3-r1
  • xen Alpine 3.7 4.9.2-r2

alpine advisories ALPINE-CVE-2018-8897

Alpine secdb © Alpine Linux, from https://secdb.alpinelinux.org via OSV; changed: normalised to fixed package versions per release. CC BY-SA 4.0

  • linux Arch Linux 4.17.2-1
  • linux-lts Arch Linux 4.14.44-1
  • linux-hardened Arch Linux 4.17a-1
  • linux-zen Arch Linux 4.17-1

arch linux advisories AVG-701AVG-702AVG-703AVG-704

Vendor advisories

What the vendors themselves say about their products: affected, fixed or not affected, and what to do.

red hat product security vex CVE-2018-8897 updated cvss 6.5

Kernel: error in exception handling leads to DoS

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 perf, kernel, kernel-alt, python-perf, kernel-kdump, kernel-tools, +3 more Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization 3 rhev-hypervisor-ng Red Hat Virtualization 4 rhev-hypervisor-ng
    affected: no fix available
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Client Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1318
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.3) perf 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1348
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode EUS (v. 7.4) perf 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1345
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1318
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.3) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1348
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux ComputeNode Optional EUS (v. 7.4) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1345
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Desktop Optional (v. 6) python-perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1319
show 24 more
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-kdump 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, +4 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux for ARM and IBM Power LE (POWER9) Server Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1318
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux for Real Time for NFV (v. 7) kernel-rt 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-kvm 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-trace 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-debug-kvm 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-trace-kvm 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1355
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1319
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node EUS (v. 6.7) perf 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1346
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional (v. 6) python-perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1319
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux HPC Node Optional EUS (v. 6.7) python-perf 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1346
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Long Life (v. 5.9 server) kernel 2.6.18-348.39.2.el5, kernel-PAE 2.6.18-348.39.2.el5, kernel-xen 2.6.18-348.39.2.el5, kernel-debuginfo-common 2.6.18-348.39.2.el5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1352
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Realtime (v. 7) kernel-rt 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-trace 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7, kernel-rt-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-862.2.3.rt56.806.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1355
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 5 ELS) kernel 2.6.18-431.el5, kernel-PAE 2.6.18-431.el5, kernel-xen 2.6.18-431.el5, kernel-kdump 2.6.18-431.el5, kernel-debuginfo-common 2.6.18-431.el5
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1353
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 6) perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-kdump 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-bootwrapper 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1319
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server (v. 7) perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-kdump 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1318
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 6.4) perf 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6, kernel 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1349
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 6.5) perf 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, kernel 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1350
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 6.6) perf 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6, kernel 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1351
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server AUS (v. 7.2) perf 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, +1 more Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server E4S (v. 7.2) perf 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, kernel-abi-whitelists 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7, +1 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1347
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 6.7) perf 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-kdump 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-firmware 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-bootwrapper 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, kernel-abi-whitelists 2.6.32-573.55.2.el6, +4 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1346
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.3) perf 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-kdump 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-514.48.3.el7, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1348
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server EUS (v. 7.4) perf 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, python-perf 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-kdump 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-tools 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, kernel-tools-libs 3.10.0-693.25.4.el7, +6 more
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1345
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 6) python-perf 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-i686 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-s390x 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-696.28.1.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1319
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional (v. 7) kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7, kernel-debuginfo-common-ppc64le 3.10.0-862.2.3.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1318
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 6.4) kernel 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-358.88.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1349
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 6.5) kernel 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, python-perf 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-431.89.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1350
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 6.6) python-perf 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6, kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 2.6.32-504.68.2.el6
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1351
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional AUS (v. 7.2) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7 Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server Optional E4S (v. 7.2) kernel-debuginfo-common-x86_64 3.10.0-327.66.3.el7
    fixed: vendor fix RHSA-2018:1347

16 more fixed, 1 more not affected in the full advisory

Red Hat CSAF VEX © Red Hat, Inc., from https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/; changed: reduced to product statuses and remediations. CC BY 4.0 · csaf

Timeline

  1. First public exploit (Metasploit exploit/windows/local/mov_ss)
  2. Published

Exploit prediction

18.48% chance of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of all scored CVEs (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-09).

Exploits and checks

  • Metasploit exploit/windows/local/mov_ss Microsoft Windows POP/MOV SS Local Privilege Elevation Vulnerability metasploit exploit, excellent rank, 2018-05-08
  • EDB-45024 Microsoft Windows - POP/MOV SS Local Privilege Elevation (Metasploit) local, 2018-07-13
  • EDB-44697 Microsoft Windows - 'POP/MOV SS' Privilege Escalation local, 2018-05-22
  • github.com https://github.com/can1357/CVE-2018-8897/ referenced PoC, tagged "exploit" by a source, unverified

CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
NVD 3.0 7.8 CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/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

Classification

Weakness
  • CWE-362 Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization

References

Sources

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.