Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1 Kernel access control

CVSS Meta Temp Score
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CTI Interest Score
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6.8$0-$5k0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability has been found in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1 and classified as critical. The affected element is an unknown function of the component Kernel. The manipulation leads to access control. This vulnerability is uniquely identified as CVE-2018-1038. Local access is required to approach this attack. Moreover, an exploit is present. Applying a patch is the recommended action to fix this issue.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1/Server 2008 R2 SP1 (Operating System). This issue affects an unknown part of the component Kernel. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a access control vulnerability. Using CWE to declare the problem leads to CWE-264. Impacted is confidentiality, integrity, and availability. The summary by CVE is:

The Windows kernel in Windows 7 SP1 and Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 allows an elevation of privilege vulnerability due to the way it handles objects in memory, aka "Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

The bug was discovered 03/29/2018. The weakness was disclosed 03/29/2018 as confirmed security update guide (Website). The advisory is shared at portal.msrc.microsoft.com. The identification of this vulnerability is CVE-2018-1038 since 12/01/2017. An attack has to be approached locally. A simple authentication is necessary for exploitation. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available. MITRE ATT&CK project uses the attack technique T1068 for this issue. The advisory points out:

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights.

The exploit is available at exploit-db.com. It is declared as proof-of-concept. We expect the 0-day to have been worth approximately $25k-$100k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 108757 (KB4100480: Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows : Microsoft Bulletins and running in the context l. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 91440 (Microsoft Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (KB4100480)).

Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. A possible mitigation has been published immediately after the disclosure of the vulnerability.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at Exploit-DB (44581), Tenable (108757) and SecurityFocus (BID 103549†). If you want to get the best quality for vulnerability data then you always have to consider VulDB.

Productinfo

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CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.0
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 6.8

VulDB Base Score: 5.3
VulDB Temp Score: 4.8
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

Vendor Base Score (Microsoft): 7.8
Vendor Vector (Microsoft): 🔍

NVD Base Score: 7.8
NVD Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
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Exploitinginfo

Class: Access control
CWE: CWE-264
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: Partially
Local: Yes
Remote: No

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Proof-of-Concept
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

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Nessus ID: 108757
Nessus Name: KB4100480: Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍
Nessus Context: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 870392
OpenVAS Name: Microsoft Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability (KB4100480)
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Patch
Status: 🔍

Reaction Time: 🔍
0-Day Time: 🔍
Exposure Time: 🔍

Timelineinfo

12/01/2017 🔍
03/29/2018 +118 days 🔍
03/29/2018 +0 days 🔍
03/29/2018 +0 days 🔍
03/29/2018 +0 days 🔍
03/30/2018 +1 days 🔍
04/02/2018 +3 days 🔍
04/02/2018 +0 days 🔍
10/12/2025 +2750 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com
Product: microsoft.com

Advisory: portal.msrc.microsoft.com
Researcher: Ulf Frisk - @UlfFrisk
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2018-1038 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2018-1038
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-115517

OVAL: 🔍

SecurityFocus: 103549 - Microsoft Windows Kernel CVE-2018-1038 Local Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
SecurityTracker: 1040632

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20140213

Entryinfo

Created: 04/03/2018 00:13
Updated: 10/12/2025 03:58
Changes: 04/03/2018 00:13 (89), 01/20/2020 08:55 (7), 02/08/2021 09:13 (2), 02/08/2021 09:19 (1), 10/12/2025 03:58 (15)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103

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