CVE-2018-8495 — Windows Shell Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Executive Summary

A remote code execution vulnerability exists when Windows Shell improperly handles URIs. An attacker who successfully exploited the vulnerability could gain the same user rights as the current user. If the current user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker could take control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit the vulnerability through Microsoft Edge, and then convince a user to view the website. The attack requires specific user interaction which an attacker would need to trick the user into performing. There is no way an attacker could exploit the vulnerability without the user performing the specific action. The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying how Windows Shell handles URIs.

Overview

4.2

CVSS MEDIUM

Important

MS Severity

Not Exploited

MS Exploit Status

N/A

MS Exploit Likelihood

Category Remote Code Execution

Released Oct 9 2018

Last Updated Oct 9 2018

Publicly Disclosed No

CISA KEV Not Listed

Known Exploits None Known

CVSS Vector

ATTACK VECTOR

Network

ATTACK COMPLEXITY

High

PRIVILEGES REQUIRED

None

USER INTERACTION

Required

SCOPE

Unchanged

CONFIDENTIALITY

Low

INTEGRITY

Low

AVAILABILITY

None

EXPLOIT CODE MATURITY

Proof-of-Concept

REMEDIATION LEVEL

Official Fix

REPORT CONFIDENCE

Confirmed

Temporal Score: 3.8

EPSS Score

No EPSS score available for this CVE.

View on FIRST.org

Affected Products

12 affected products

Product	KB Article	Severity	Impact	Restart Required
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems	`4462917 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems	`4462917 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1703 for 32-bit Systems	`4462937 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1703 for x64-based Systems	`4462937 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for 32-bit Systems	`4462918 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1709 for x64-based Systems	`4462918 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for 32-bit Systems	`4462919 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows 10 Version 1803 for x64-based Systems	`4462919 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server 2016	`4462917 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)	`4462917 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server, version 1709 (Server Core Installation)	`4462918 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes
Windows Server, version 1803 (Server Core Installation)	`4462919 (Security Update)`	Important	Remote Code Execution	Yes

Patches

4 patches

Article	Type	Restart
`4462917`	Security Update	Yes
`4462937`	Security Update	Yes
`4462918`	Security Update	Yes
`4462919`	Security Update	Yes

Known Exploits

No known exploits have been linked for this CVE yet. When available, exploit references will be sourced from public repositories and may be unverified, incomplete, or non-functional. Always review code carefully before use in any environment.

Acknowledgments

@qab
YongShao

References

MSRC Advisory MITRE NVD