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CVE-2018-8453 is a local elevation of privilege vulnerability in the Windows Win32k kernel component. The flaw is caused by improper handling of objects in memory within Win32k, leading to memory corruption consistent with a use-after-free condition. Successful exploitation allows a locally executing attacker to elevate privileges from a low-privileged context to SYSTEM. The vulnerability affected multiple Windows client and server releases, including Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows RT 8.1, and several Windows Server versions. The vulnerability was exploited in the wild and was incorporated into post-compromise tooling and ransomware operations as a privilege-escalation step after initial code execution on a host.
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What an attacker gets, and what they’ve been doing with it.
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1 valid exploit after Mallory filtered fakes, detection scripts, and README-only repos (1 hidden).
This repository contains multiple implementations of a local privilege escalation exploit for CVE-2018-8453, a Windows kernel vulnerability. The exploit targets Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 RS2 (builds 15063 and 16299), as indicated in the README files. The structure includes several Visual Studio C++ projects for both x86 and x64 architectures, with both GUI and console variants. The main exploit logic is implemented in C/C++ with supporting assembly for low-level kernel interactions (e.g., _asm.asm). The exploit leverages Windows GDI palette objects and window class structures to achieve arbitrary kernel memory read/write, ultimately allowing the attacker to escalate privileges to SYSTEM. The code is operational and includes all necessary components to build and run the exploit on a vulnerable system. No network or remote attack vectors are present; exploitation requires local code execution. The repository is well-structured for research and adaptation to similar kernel vulnerabilities.
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Vendor-confirmed product mapping. Mallory continuously reconciles this list against your asset inventory.
11 sources tracked across advisories, community write-ups, and news. New activity surfaces here as Mallory finds it.
A win32k.sys kernel privilege escalation vulnerability used by REvil to obtain SYSTEM privileges on infected Windows hosts.
A privilege escalation vulnerability leveraged by REvil after execution.
A Win32k privilege escalation vulnerability used by REvil to escalate privileges on compromised systems.
A Windows local privilege escalation vulnerability involving a use-after-free in win32kfull!xxxDestroyWindow, discussed as a 1-Day exploit sold by PlayBit and used by multiple malware families.
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.