CVE-2018-8174

HIGH KEV RANSOMWARE

Windows VBScript Engine - Remote Code Execution via Memory Object Handling

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

CVE-2018-8174 is actively exploited and listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, added February 15, 2022, with confirmed use in ransomware campaigns. EIP tracks 13 public exploits from researchers including smgorelik, qazbnm456, 0x09AL.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This is a functional exploit for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The exploit uses memory corruption techniques to bypass DEP and CFG, ultimately executing shellcode to achieve remote code execution.

Description

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.

Exploits (13)

exploitdb WORKING POC
by smgorelik · htmllocalwindows
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44741

This is a functional exploit for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The exploit uses memory corruption techniques to bypass DEP and CFG, ultimately executing shellcode to achieve remote code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Internet Explorer (VBScript Engine)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim must visit a malicious webpage using Internet Explorer
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
github WRITEUP 3,480 stars
by qazbnm456 · poc
https://github.com/qazbnm456/awesome-cve-poc/tree/master/CVE-2018-8174.md

This repository provides a detailed analysis and references for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability. It includes links to external PoCs and technical writeups but does not contain direct exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target system with vulnerable VBScript engine · User interaction to execute malicious script
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 27, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 169 stars
by 0x09AL · client-side
https://github.com/0x09AL/CVE-2018-8174-msf

This is a Metasploit module that generates a malicious RTF file exploiting CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The exploit uses a combination of memory corruption and ROP techniques to achieve remote code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Office Word 32-bit
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Vulnerable version of Microsoft Office Word · User interaction to open the malicious RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 141 stars
by Yt1g3r · client-side
https://github.com/Yt1g3r/CVE-2018-8174_EXP

This is a working exploit for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability. The PoC generates a malicious RTF file with embedded OLE objects and a VBScript payload to trigger the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine (Windows 7 SP1, Windows 10 1709, and others)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim must open the malicious RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP 31 stars
by piotrflorczyk · client-side
https://github.com/piotrflorczyk/cve-2018-8174_analysis

This repository contains a detailed analysis of CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability involving use-after-free and type confusion. The writeup explains the exploit mechanism, including memory manipulation and object reference handling.

Classification
Writeup 100%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine (CVE-2018-8174)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Target system with vulnerable VBScript engine · Ability to execute VBScript code on the target
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
github WRITEUP 14 stars
by xbl3 · poc
https://github.com/xbl3/awesome-cve-poc_qazbnm456/tree/master/CVE-2018-8174.md

This repository provides a detailed writeup and references for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability. It includes links to external PoCs and technical analyses but does not contain direct exploit code.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim must visit a malicious website or open a malicious document
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 27, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 9 stars
by ruthlezs · client-side
https://github.com/ruthlezs/ie11_vbscript_exploit

This is a Python script that generates an HTML file exploiting CVE-2019-0768 and CVE-2018-8174 in Internet Explorer 11 via VBScript. It uses Metasploit's msfvenom to generate a reverse TCP shell payload and embeds it in the HTML file for delivery.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Internet Explorer 11
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Metasploit · msfvenom · Python · Target using IE11
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 7 stars
by SyFi · client-side
https://github.com/SyFi/CVE-2018-8174

This PoC generates an RTF file exploiting CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability in Microsoft Word/WordPad via IE. It embeds a malicious OLE object pointing to a remote HTML file hosting the exploit.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Word/WordPad (via IE VBScript Engine)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Remote web server hosting the malicious HTML file · Victim opens the crafted RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WRITEUP 1 stars
by orf53975 · poc
https://github.com/orf53975/Rig-Exploit-for-CVE-2018-8174

This repository contains a writeup describing the Rig Exploit Kit's use of CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability, to achieve remote code execution via malvertising and hidden iframes. The exploit delivers shellcode leading to a second-stage downloader (SmokeLoader variant) and ultimately a Monero miner payload.

Classification
Writeup 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine (CVE-2018-8174)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim visits a malvertising page with a hidden iframe · Target system is vulnerable to CVE-2018-8174
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by lisinan988 · client-side
https://github.com/lisinan988/CVE-2018-8174-exp

This is a working exploit PoC for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability. The exploit uses a crafted RTF document with embedded malicious HTML and VBScript to achieve arbitrary code execution.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine (Windows 7 SP1, Windows 10, etc.)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim opens a malicious RTF document
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by ericisnotrealname · remote
https://github.com/ericisnotrealname/CVE-2018-8174_EXP

This is a working exploit for CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine remote code execution vulnerability. The PoC generates a malicious RTF file with an embedded OLE object containing a VBScript payload designed to exploit the vulnerability.

Classification
Working Poc 90%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows VBScript Engine (Windows 7 SP1, Windows 10, etc.)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Victim must open the malicious RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC
by likekabin · poc
https://github.com/likekabin/CVE-2018-8174-msf

This is a Metasploit module that generates a malicious RTF file exploiting CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability in Microsoft Office. The exploit leverages memory corruption to achieve remote code execution via a crafted HTML payload.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Office Word (32-bit)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Vulnerable version of Microsoft Office Word · User interaction to open the malicious RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
patchapalooza WORKING POC
by 0x1 · remote
https://gitlab.com/0x1/CVE-2018-8174

This repository contains a functional Python script that generates a malicious RTF file exploiting CVE-2018-8174, a VBScript engine vulnerability in Microsoft Word and WordPad. The exploit leverages an embedded OLE object to trigger remote code execution via a crafted HTML payload hosted on a web server.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Rce
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Word, Microsoft WordPad (via IE VBScript Engine)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Web server hosting the malicious HTML payload · Victim interaction to open the RTF file
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 23, 2026 Full analysis →

References (5)

Core 5
Core References
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44741/
Exploit, Technical Description, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://blog.0patch.com/2018/05/a-single-instruction-micropatch-for.html
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/103998

Scores

CVSS v3 7.5
EPSS 0.9428
EPSS Percentile 99.9%
Attack Vector NETWORK
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

CISA SSVC

Vulnrichment
Exploitation active
Automatable no
Technical Impact total

Details

CISA KEV 2022-02-15
VulnCheck KEV 2018-05-08
InTheWild.io 2018-05-08
ENISA EUVD EUVD-2018-19844
Ransomware Use Confirmed
CWE
CWE-787
Status published
Products (12)
microsoft/windows_10_1607
microsoft/windows_10_1703
microsoft/windows_10_1709
microsoft/windows_10_1803
microsoft/windows_7
microsoft/windows_8.1
microsoft/windows_rt_8.1
microsoft/windows_server_2008
microsoft/windows_server_2008 r2 sp1 (2 CPE variants)
microsoft/windows_server_2012
... and 2 more
Published May 09, 2018
KEV Added Feb 15, 2022
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026