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CVE-2018-8440 is a local elevation-of-privilege vulnerability in Microsoft Windows caused by improper handling of Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) interactions in the Task Scheduler service. The flaw is associated with the Task Scheduler API function SchRpcSetSecurity, which does not correctly enforce permission checks. A local attacker with code execution on a vulnerable host can abuse this weakness to manipulate security settings through the scheduler interface and elevate from a low-privileged user context to NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Affected platforms include multiple supported Windows client and server releases spanning Windows 7 through Windows 10 and corresponding server versions.
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2 valid exploits after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos.
This repository contains a single Metasploit module (alpc_taskscheduler.rb) that exploits CVE-2018-8440, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows Task Scheduler's ALPC interface. The exploit targets Windows 10 x64 systems and requires an existing Meterpreter session. It works by abusing the SchRpcSetSecurity method to set arbitrary DACLs on files in the c:\windows\tasks directory, allowing privilege escalation via a hardlink attack. The exploit overwrites PrintConfig.dll in the system's driver store, which may have side effects. The module uses a DLL payload (ALPC-TaskSched-LPE.dll) injected via Reflective DLL Injection to achieve SYSTEM privileges. The code is written in Ruby and is designed to be run within the Metasploit framework.
This repository is a standalone proof-of-concept (PoC) exploit for CVE-2018-8440, a privilege escalation vulnerability in Microsoft Windows Task Scheduler (SchRpc). The exploit is implemented in C++ and is structured as a Visual Studio solution with three main projects: 'CommonUtils' (utility library for NT object and symlink manipulation), 'payload' (a DLL that executes notepad.exe when loaded), and 'poc' (the main exploit executable). The exploit leverages advanced NT object and registry symlink techniques to manipulate the Task Scheduler service and achieve code execution as SYSTEM. The PoC is operational and demonstrates successful exploitation by running an arbitrary DLL payload as SYSTEM. The codebase includes custom implementations for creating file, native, and registry symlinks, as well as RPC interface definitions for interacting with the Task Scheduler. The exploit targets unpatched Windows 10 systems and requires the attacker to run the PoC executable and provide a suitable DLL payload. The repository does not rely on any external exploit frameworks and is self-contained.
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5 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A Windows Print Spooler-related privilege escalation vulnerability associated with exploitation attempts that may result in SYSTEM-level access.
A Windows privilege-escalation vulnerability that GandCrab version 5.x incorporated as an exploit to obtain SYSTEM privileges on infected hosts.
A Windows elevation-of-privilege vulnerability involving improper handling of Advanced Local Procedure Call (ALPC) calls, used by an attacker to elevate privileges on a compromised server.
Query your assets running an affected version, and investigate the blast radius.
Every observed campaign linking this CVE to a named adversary.
Malware families riding this exploit, with evidence and IOCs.
YARA, Sigma, Snort, and vendor rules, auto-deployed to your SIEM.
Cross-references every affected SKU, including bundled OEM variants.
Community discussion across Reddit, Mastodon, and other social sources.