cbcvebase.
CVE-2018-8611
published 2018-12-12

CVE-2018-8611: An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege…

PriorityP179high7.8CVSS 3.1
AVLACLPRLUINSUCHIHAH
KEVITWEXPLOIT
CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilitydue 2022-06-14
Exploited in the wild
EPSS
4.20%
89.8th percentile
An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory, aka "Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.

Affected

52 ranges· showing 25
VendorProductVersion rangeFixed in
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10
microsoftwindows_10_servers
microsoftwindows_10_servers
microsoftwindows_7
microsoftwindows_7
microsoftwindows_8.1
microsoftwindows_8.1
microsoftwindows_rt_8.1
microsoftwindows_server_2008
microsoftwindows_server_2008
microsoftwindows_server_2008

Detection & IOCsextracted from sources · hover to see the quote

otherHEUR:Exploit.Win32.Generic
  • CVE-2018-8611 exploit targets a race condition in the Kernel Transaction Manager (ntoskrnl.exe). Monitor for suspicious use of NtQueryInformationResourceManager and NtRecoverResourceManager syscalls in rapid succession from the same process, followed by WriteFile on a named pipe — this sequence is the vulnerability trigger.
  • The exploit bypasses Win32k System call Filtering (used in Microsoft Edge Sandbox and Google Chrome Sandbox Win32k Lockdown Policy) because the vulnerable syscalls are in ntoskrnl.exe, not win32k.sys. Sandbox escape detections relying solely on win32k syscall filtering will not catch this exploit.
  • The exploit creates a named pipe and opens it for both read and write as part of its exploitation setup. Combined with KTM object creation and the syscall sequence above, this is a behavioral fingerprint of the CVE-2018-8611 exploit.
  • The exploit heavily relies on C++ exception handling mechanisms with custom error codes, similar to the CHAINSHOT malware. Static analysis of suspicious binaries should look for unusual structured exception handling (SEH) patterns with non-standard error codes.
  • The latest build of the CVE-2018-8611 exploit at time of discovery targeted Windows 10 Redstone 4 Build 17133. Presence of version checks for this specific build in a suspicious binary is an indicator of this exploit family.
  • Kaspersky detected CVE-2018-8611 exploit activity proactively via Behavioral Detection Engine and Automatic Exploit Prevention (AEP). Endpoint products with behavioral/AEP capabilities should be tuned to flag KTM race condition patterns.
  • ·Multiple builds of the exploit exist, with the latest at time of discovery targeting Windows 10 RS4 Build 17133. Detection logic may need to account for version-specific offsets and checks across different builds.
  • ·The exploit was attributed to at least two threat actors (FruityArmor and SandCat), suggesting it may appear in different malware delivery contexts (FinFisher/FinSpy and CHAINSHOT). Detections should not be scoped to a single threat actor's toolchain.
  • ·The NtQuerySystemInformation (class 0x40 / SystemExtendedHandleInformation) kernel address leak technique requires Medium Integrity Level and is considered intended behavior by Microsoft on Windows 10/Server. False-positive risk exists for legitimate software using this API; focus correlation on the full exploit behavioral chain.

CVSS provenance

nvdv3.17.8HIGHCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
nvdv2.07.2HIGHAV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
vulncheck7.8HIGH
cisa7.8HIGH
vendor_msrc7.0HIGH
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