How severe is CVE-2018-8405?

CVE-2018-8405 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2018-8405?

Affected package information for CVE-2018-8405 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2018-8405?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2018-8405 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2018-8405 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2018-8405, including 2 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2018-8405?

CVE-2018-8405 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 50.0%, placing it in the 98th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. This score warrants monitoring and prompt remediation.

Is CVE-2018-8405 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2018-8405 (Microsoft DirectX Graphics Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2022-03-28. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-04-18. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2018-8405?

CVE-2018-8405 is classified as CWE-404 (CWE-404). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2018-8405?

CVE-2018-8405 affects microsoft windows 8.1; microsoft windows 10 1507; microsoft windows 10 1607; microsoft windows 10 1703, and 7 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2018-8405 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2018-8405 was published on August 15, 2018 and was last updated on October 28, 2025. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2022-03-28 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-04-18 · Ransomware

CVE-2018-8405

HIGH

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the DirectX Graphics Kernel (DXGKRNL) driver improperly handles objects in memory, aka "DirectX Graphics Kernel Elevation of Privilege…

Published

Aug 15, 2018

Updated

Oct 28, 2025

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

2 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

50.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

High Risk98th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the DirectX Graphics Kernel (DXGKRNL) driver improperly handles objects in memory, aka "DirectX Graphics Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." This affects Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8400, CVE-2018-8401, CVE-2018-8406.

Affected Products

11 products · 16 configurations

windows 8.1microsoft

all

windows 10 1507microsoft

all

windows 10 1607microsoft

all

windows 10 1703microsoft

all

windows 10 1709microsoft

all

windows 10 1803microsoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the DirectX Graphics…

cisa.govAPIMar 2022

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists when the DirectX Graphics…

cisa.govCISAMar 2022

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2018-8405 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2018-8405 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

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