Vulnerability report

Trusted Third Party Report Confirmed Confidence In CISA KEV

CVE-2018-8406

Windows Server 2016

Microsoft / Windows Server 2016 · (Server Core installation)

Watch CVE-2018-8406 Browse KEV feed
Severity
CVSS 7.8 · High
Confidence
Confirmed
Exploit status
Trusted Third Party Report
EPSS
3.4%
First observed
—
Last observed
—

Decision summary

What security teams need to know first

Direct answers before the deeper technical record.

What it is

CVE-2018-8406 is a vulnerability affecting Microsoft Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.

Have exploitation attempts been observed?

Yes. Exploitation attempts have been reported for this vulnerability. Previdian lists it as a known exploited vulnerability. Listed in CISA KEV. Confidence is confirmed.

Who is affected?

Affected products include Microsoft / Windows Server 2016 and 2 other products, including (Server Core installation), 32-bit Systems, and Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems.

What should we do?

Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.

Overview

Windows Server 2016

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the DirectX Graphics Kernel (DXGKRNL) driver improperly handles objects in memory, aka "DirectX Graphics Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.

This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8400, CVE-2018-8401, CVE-2018-8405.

Microsoft Affected
Windows Server 2016
(Server Core installation)
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10
32-bit Systems Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems Version 1607 for x64-based Systems Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems Version 1703 for x64-based Systems Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems Version 1709 for x64-based Systems Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems Version 1803 for x64-based Systems x64-based Systems
Microsoft Affected
Windows 10 Servers
version 1709 (Server Core Installation) version 1803 (Server Core Installation)
Published
15 Aug 2018
Exploitation Attempts Reported
28 Mar 2022
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None

Tags

windows microsoft malware cisa ransomware

CVE References

Exploitation evidence

Evidence of exploitation attempts

Third-party attestation and first-party sensor observation are shown separately so teams can judge the evidence chain.

Exploitation Attempts Observed in the Wild

CISA

Recorded 28 Mar 2022

A trusted third party reported exploitation attempts.

Targeted by Malware-Related Exploitation Attempts

CISA

Recorded 28 Mar 2022

Exploitation attempts against this vulnerability are associated with malware-related payloads.

Known exploited vulnerability sources

Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the Previdian Pro API.

Learn about Pro API access
Source Added
CISA First 2022-03-28 00:00 UTC

Detection

Operational artifacts and observed signals

Make the evidence actionable in scanner, SOC, and edge-control workflows.

Scanner coverage

No scanner integrations recorded yet.

Virtual patch status

No Previdian virtual patch is currently available. Future rules ship for ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF.

Learn about virtual patches →

No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.

Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.

Risk and context

Severity, weaknesses, and research context

CVSS v3.1

7.8 High

Potential damage if exploited. Separate from whether attackers are using it.

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

EPSS

3.4%

Estimated chance of exploitation in the next 30 days. Previdian's warning comes from evidence, not this score.

Weaknesses

Improper Resource Shutdown or Release CWE-404

All CVSS Scores

CVSS v3.1 7.8 High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS v2.0 7.2 High

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

Timeline

From disclosure to observed exploitation attempts

  1. 00:00 UTC

    Added to CISA KEV

    Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

  2. 00:00 UTC

    Targeted by malware-related exploitation attempts

    Malware-related exploitation attempts or payloads reported

  3. 17:00 UTC

    CVE published

    Vulnerability disclosed publicly

  4. 00:00 UTC

    CVE ID reserved

    Identifier reserved by the CNA

Pro API

Automate this intelligence

Confidence, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.

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  • Evidence confidence and provenance
  • First-party sensor telemetry
  • PoC and scanner references
  • Affected versions and enrichment
  • Automation-ready JSON delivery

GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2018-8406

Sample API response 
{
  "cve_id": "CVE-2018-8406",
  "confidence": "Confirmed",
  "cvss_score": 7.8,
  "cvss_estimated": false,
  "epss_score": 0.03444,
  "exploit_status": {
    "exploited_in_the_wild": true,
    "active_exploitation_observed": false
  },
  "sensor_telemetry": { "attempts": 0, "sensors": 0 }
}