CVE-2018-8440
Published: 13 September 2018
Summary
CVE-2018-8440 is a high-severity an unspecified weakness vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Server 2008. Its CVSS base score is 7.8 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 1.1% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog; a public proof-of-concept is referenced.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and AC-6 (Least Privilege).
Deeper analysis
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Windows when the operating system improperly handles calls to Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC). Tracked as CVE-2018-8440, the flaw affects Windows 7, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, and Windows 10 Servers.
A local attacker with low privileges can exploit the issue without user interaction to obtain elevated rights on the target system, resulting in high impact to confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Microsoft has published security guidance addressing the vulnerability through its advisory portal, while micropatch approaches have also been developed and compared for environments where standard updates may require additional measures.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2018-20076
Vulnerability details
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when Windows improperly handles calls to Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC), aka "Windows ALPC Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server…
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2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 28 March 2022
Related Threats
No named actor attribution yet. ATT&CK technique mapping in progress for this CVE.
Affected Assets
Mitigating Controls
Mitigating Controls (NIST 800-53 r5) AI
Directly enforces access control policy on ALPC calls so a low-privileged caller cannot obtain elevated rights.
Requires that Windows components and user processes operate with only the privileges needed, blocking the elevation path exploited by CVE-2018-8440.
Mandates prompt installation of the Microsoft patches that correct the flawed ALPC handling in affected Windows versions.