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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2018-8589

Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

Published Oct 17, 2018 · catalog updated Jun 16, 2026 · Microsoft Win32k

Patch now

CVE-2018-8589 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jun 13, 2022. Confirm Microsoft Win32k against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Gaps on this record

  • No version range is stored. A customer cannot check an installed version against this record.
Severity
High7.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
3.02%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe microsoft/windows 7 · cpe microsoft/windows server 2008 · vendor Microsoft Win32k

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe microsoft/windows 7version unspecified
  • cpe microsoft/windows server 2008r2
  • vendor Microsoft Win32kversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2018-8589

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2018-8589 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due Jun 13, 2022. Confirm Microsoft Win32k against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Compare what you have installed with microsoft/windows server 2008 r2. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What should an analyst verify?

No weakness class is stored. EPSS 3.02%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. No Exploit-DB or Metasploit reference is linked. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

Windows security

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. Nov 13, 2018 · Catalog

    Detected

    An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

  2. May 23, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  3. Jun 13, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  4. Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2018-8589

    A privilege escalation vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run remote code in the security context of the local system.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2018-8589

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2018-8589

    30-day exploitation probability 3.0%

    first.org
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2018-8589

    An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys, aka "Windows Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.

    nvd.nist.gov
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2018-8589

    A privilege escalation vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Win32k.sys. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run remote code in the security context of the local system.

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.