CVE-2018-8581
Published: 14 November 2018
Summary
CVE-2018-8581 is a high-severity an unspecified weakness vulnerability in Microsoft Exchange Server. Its CVSS base score is 7.4 (High).
Operationally, ranked in the top 0.3% of CVEs by exploit likelihood; CISA has added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
The strongest mitigations our analysis identified are NIST 800-53 AC-3 (Access Enforcement) and SI-2 (Flaw Remediation).
Deeper analysis
An elevation of privilege vulnerability tracked as CVE-2018-8581 affects Microsoft Exchange Server. The flaw carries a CVSS 3.1 base score of 7.4 with the vector AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N, indicating a remotely exploitable issue that requires no prior authentication or user interaction yet demands high attack complexity to achieve high impact on confidentiality and integrity while leaving availability unaffected.
An unauthenticated attacker able to reach the server over the network could leverage the vulnerability to obtain elevated privileges, resulting in unauthorized disclosure and modification of sensitive data. The high complexity rating implies that successful exploitation depends on specific conditions or additional steps that are not guaranteed to succeed in every environment.
Public references, including the Microsoft Security Response Center advisory at portal.msrc.microsoft.com, provide the authoritative source for any available patches or configuration guidance, though specific mitigation details are not enumerated in the CVE record itself. No information on observed in-the-wild exploitation is supplied in the available data.
EU & UK References
- 🇪🇺 ENISA EUVD: EUVD-2018-20198
Vulnerability details
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Exchange Server, aka "Microsoft Exchange Server Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Microsoft Exchange Server.
- CWE(s)
- KEV Date Added
- 03 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 policies to block the unauthenticated privilege escalation path exploited by CVE-2018-8581.
Requires timely application of vendor patches that remediate the Exchange Server elevation-of-privilege flaw.
Limits the scope of privileges an attacker can obtain even if the CVE-2018-8581 flaw is successfully triggered.