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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 18 Apr 2022. Known ransomware use
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2018-8406

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2018-08-15
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
96/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Ransomware Zero-click Patch available

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
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 2016, Windows 10, Windows 10 Servers. This CVE ID is unique from CVE-2018-8400, CVE-2018-8401, CVE-2018-8405.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the DirectX Graphics Kernel (DXGKRNL) driver when it improperly handles objects in memory, allowing a local attacker to escalate privileges to kernel level.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2018-8406 via Windows Update, WSUS, or manual patch deployment to affected Windows systems.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1703Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1709Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1803Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 1709Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 1803Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2016Operating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows version installed
    Affected if The version shown is any of: Windows 10 1507, Windows 10 1607, Windows 10 1703, Windows 10 1709, Windows 10 1803, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 1803, or Windows Server 2016
  2. Confirm build number falls within affected range
    Run 'systeminfo' and note the 'Build' number. For Windows 10: affected builds include 10240 (1507), 14393 (1607), 15063 (1703), 16299 (1709), 17134 (1803). For Windows Server 2016: build 14393. For Server 1709: build 16299. For Server 1803: build 17134.
    Affected if The build number matches any of the affected Windows 10 or Windows Server builds listed in the CVE affected products
  3. Verify DXGKRNL driver is present
    Check for the presence of the DirectX Graphics Kernel driver by running 'dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys' or query the driver via 'sc query dxg'
    Affected if The dxgkrnl.sys driver file exists on the system (this driver is present by default on affected Windows 10 and Server versions with graphics components)

A system is affected if it runs any of the specified Windows 10 or Windows Server versions listed in the CVE, as the DXGKRNL driver is included by default in those releases.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch portal.msrc.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2018-8406 via Windows Update, WSUS, or manual patch deployment to affected Windows systems.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10 1809 or later, or Windows Server 2019 or later (ensure you install the latest available security updates)

  1. 1. Identify the current Windows 10 or Windows Server version by running 'winver' or checking System Properties
  2. 2. Determine if your current build is within the affected version range (Windows 10 1507, 1607, 1703, 1709, 1803 or Windows Server 2016, 1709, 1803)
  3. 3. Apply the appropriate security update from August 2018: For Windows 10 1709 apply KB4343887, for Windows 10 1803 apply KB4343886, for Windows 10 1607 apply KB4343893, for Windows 10 1703 apply KB4343909, for Windows Server 2016 apply KB4343891
  4. 4. Alternatively, use Windows Update or Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) to install the August 2018 Security Only update or Monthly Rollup for your Windows version
  5. 5. Restart the system after applying the update
  6. 6. Verify the update was installed successfully by checking 'Installed Updates' in Control Panel or running 'Get-HotFix' in PowerShell
Caveat Some older Windows 10 versions (1507, 1703) have reached end of support; consider upgrading to a supported version like Windows 10 1809 or Windows 10 21H2 for continued security updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,390
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An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2018-8406 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data