CVE DATABASE / CVE-2018-8639

CVE-2018-8639

Microsoft Windows Win32k Improper Resource Shutdown or Release Vulnerability

CVSS 7.8 · HIGH ⚠ CISA KEV — ACTIVELY EXPLOITED RANSOMWARE

On the CISA KEV catalog

Confirmed exploited in the wild. Added 2025-03-03. Federal remediation due 2025-03-24.
Required action: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Summary

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.

CVSS 3.1 breakdown

Base score	7.8 (HIGH)
Vector	CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Attack vector	LOCAL
Attack complexity	LOW
Privileges required	LOW
User interaction	NONE
Scope	UNCHANGED
Confidentiality	HIGH
Integrity	HIGH
Availability	HIGH

Weakness type (CWE)

CWE-404

Affected products

Microsoft windows 10 1507Microsoft windows 10 1607Microsoft windows 10 1703Microsoft windows 10 1709Microsoft windows 10 1803Microsoft windows 10 1809Microsoft windows 7Microsoft windows 8.1Microsoft windows rt 8.1Microsoft windows server 2008Microsoft windows server 2012Microsoft windows server 2016Microsoft windows server 2019

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References

Data: NIST NVD + CISA KEV. NVD last modified 2025-10-29. Always verify against the vendor advisory before acting.