CVE-2018-8347 — Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability

Executive Summary

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in Microsoft Windows when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle parsing of certain symbolic links. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could potentially access privileged registry keys and thereby elevate permissions. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. To exploit this vulnerability, an attacker would first have to log on to the system. An attacker could then run a specially crafted application that could exploit the vulnerability and take control of an affected system. The update addresses this vulnerability by correcting how the Windows kernel parses symbolic links.

Overview

7

CVSS HIGH

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

More Likely

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Elevation of Privilege

Released Aug 14 2018

Last Updated Aug 14 2018

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

EPSS Score 0.01248 — 0.66725 percentile

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR

Local

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

High

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

Low

USER INTERACTION

None

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

High

INTEGRITY

High

AVAILABILITY

High

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Proof-of-Concept

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 6.3

EPSS Score

0.01248

probability of exploitation in the next 30 days

0.66725 percentile - updated 2026-08-14

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

12 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems	`4343887 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems	`4343887 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems	`4343885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1703 for x64-based Systems	`4343885 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`4343897 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems	`4343897 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems	`4343909 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems	`4343909 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2016	`4343887 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)	`4343887 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1709 (Server Core Installation)	`4343897 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes
Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation)	`4343909 (Security Update)`	Important	Elevation of Privilege	Yes

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4343887`	Security Update	Yes
`4343885`	Security Update	Yes
`4343897`	Security Update	Yes
`4343909`	Security Update	Yes

Exploits & PoC

No public exploit or PoC has been linked for this CVE yet. When available, references are sourced from public repositories and may be unverified or non-functional — review carefully before use.

Detection Rules

No public Sigma or Nuclei detection rule has been mapped to this CVE yet. Coverage is concentrated on exploited / high-profile vulnerabilities; check SigmaHQ for updates.

Acknowledgments

None

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD