What is CVE-2018-8174?
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 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers.
The record classifies CVE-2018-8174 under weakness class CWE-787. Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs a user to take an action first, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 10 affected-product entries are recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 3104 days ago.
Severity and exploitation probability
- CVSS v3.1 base score
- 7.5 — HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - EPSS (FIRST)
- 88.2% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.7% of all scored CVEs
- CISA KEV
- Listed since 2022-02-15, federal remediation deadline 2022-08-15 — used in known ransomware campaigns
- Threadlinqs priority
- 10/10 — CISA lists it as used in ransomware, which Threadlinqs scores at the maximum
- Published
- 2018-05-09, last modified 2026-08-13
Is CVE-2018-8174 being exploited?
CISA added CVE-2018-8174 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-02-15, which means the agency holds evidence of exploitation in the wild; US federal civilian agencies had to remediate it by 2022-08-15 under BOD 22-01. CISA flags the vulnerability as one used in known ransomware campaigns. Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2018-8174 is publicly available. 10 public proof-of-concept repositories are tracked for this identifier. It currently carries a trending score of 53 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.
- 0x09AL/CVE-2018-8174-msf (github)
- Yt1g3r/CVE-2018-8174_EXP (github)
- piotrflorczyk/cve-2018-8174_analysis (github)
- ruthlezs/ie11_vbscript_exploit (github)
- SyFi/CVE-2018-8174 (github)
- orf53975/Rig-Exploit-for-CVE-2018-8174 (github)
- likekabin/CVE-2018-8174-msf (github)
- ericisnotrealname/CVE-2018-8174_EXP (github)
Affected products and versions
- Microsoft: Windows 7, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers
How to fix CVE-2018-8174
The record marks a vendor fix as available for CVE-2018-8174. Patch reference: https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8174. Because CVE-2018-8174 is KEV-listed, US federal civilian agencies were required to apply the vendor fix, or stop using the product, by 2022-08-15. Apply the vendor fix referenced above to every affected product listed in this record, then confirm the running version against the vendor advisory.
Threat activity tracking CVE-2018-8174
2 tracked threats in the Threadlinqs corpus reference CVE-2018-8174, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.
- Bottle Exploit Kit (BottleEK) - Malvertising Campaign Targeting Japanese Users via CVE-2018-8174 and CVE-2018-15982 — HIGH · 2026-11-07
- Exploit kits remain active in April 2021: RIG, Spelevo, PurpleFox, Underminer, Bottle, Magnitude targeting Internet Explorer (CVE-2020-0674, CVE-2021-26411, CVE-2018-8174, CVE-2018-15982, CVE-2020-1380) — HIGH · 2026-11-07
Sources
Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on . This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.