CVE-2018-8544

Exp

A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the VBScript engine handles objects in memory, aka "Windows VBScript Engine Remote Code Execution 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.

Published: 2018-11-14 Last update: 2024-11-21 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2018-8544 is rated High Exploit Risk (84.1/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 74.17%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: 2 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2018-8544

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
45923 exploit_db edb 2018-11-30 Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2018-8544

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-31 74.86% 74.17% -0.69%
2 2026-05-22 72.86% 74.86% +2.00%
3 2025-11-21 72.86%

Full EPSS history (29 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2018-8544

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.0 HIGH
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
2.8 5.9 [email protected]
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2018-8544

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2018-8544

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_10 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1607 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1607:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1703 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1703:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1709 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1709:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1803 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1803:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_10 1809 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_10:1809:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_7 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_rt_8.1 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt_8.1:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:itanium:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:r2:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 1709 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:1709:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2016 1803 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2016:1803:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2019 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2019:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2018-8544

URL Tags
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/105787 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1042118 Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8544 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45923/ Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
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