CVE-2018-8897

HIGH

Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures - Privilege Escalation

Title source: llm
STIX 2.1

Exploitation Summary

EIP tracks 7 public exploits for CVE-2018-8897. PoCs published by Metasploit, Can Bölük, can1357, including Metasploit module exploits/windows/local/mov_ss.

AI-analyzed exploit summary This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2018-8897, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows caused by mishandling of #DB exceptions deferred by MOV SS or POP SS instructions. It uploads a pre-compiled exploit binary and payload to the target system, then executes them to achieve elevated privileges.

Description

A statement in the System Programming Guide of the Intel 64 and IA-32 Architectures Software Developer's Manual (SDM) was mishandled in the development of some or all operating-system kernels, resulting in unexpected behavior for #DB exceptions that are deferred by MOV SS or POP SS, as demonstrated by (for example) privilege escalation in Windows, macOS, some Xen configurations, or FreeBSD, or a Linux kernel crash. The MOV to SS and POP SS instructions inhibit interrupts (including NMIs), data breakpoints, and single step trap exceptions until the instruction boundary following the next instruction (SDM Vol. 3A; section 6.8.3). (The inhibited data breakpoints are those on memory accessed by the MOV to SS or POP to SS instruction itself.) Note that debug exceptions are not inhibited by the interrupt enable (EFLAGS.IF) system flag (SDM Vol. 3A; section 2.3). If the instruction following the MOV to SS or POP to SS instruction is an instruction like SYSCALL, SYSENTER, INT 3, etc. that transfers control to the operating system at CPL < 3, the debug exception is delivered after the transfer to CPL < 3 is complete. OS kernels may not expect this order of events and may therefore experience unexpected behavior when it occurs.

Exploits (7)

exploitdb WORKING POC VERIFIED
by Metasploit · rubylocalwindows
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45024

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2018-8897, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows caused by mishandling of #DB exceptions deferred by MOV SS or POP SS instructions. It uploads a pre-compiled exploit binary and payload to the target system, then executes them to achieve elevated privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows (x64, excluding XP)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Meterpreter session on target · x64 Windows system (non-XP)
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
exploitdb SUSPICIOUS VERIFIED
by Can Bölük · textlocalwindows
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44697

The provided content is a description of a PoC for CVE-2018-8897 but lacks actual exploit code, instead pointing to an external download link. This is characteristic of suspicious repositories that lure researchers into downloading potentially malicious files.

Classification
Suspicious 90%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Theoretical
Target: Microsoft Windows (various versions)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: KVA Shadowing disabled · Relevant security update uninstalled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 18, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 421 stars
by can1357 · poc
https://github.com/can1357/CVE-2018-8897

This is a working proof-of-concept exploit for CVE-2018-8897, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows. The exploit manipulates the interrupt stack to gain kernel-mode execution and escalate privileges by replacing the current process token with the system token.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows (multiple versions)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to a vulnerable Windows system · KVA Shadow disabled
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 118 stars
by nmulasmajic · poc
https://github.com/nmulasmajic/syscall_exploit_CVE-2018-8897

This is a functional local privilege escalation (LPE) exploit for CVE-2018-8897, leveraging the POP/MOV SS vulnerability via SYSCALL to gain SYSTEM privileges. The exploit manipulates kernel structures to disable SMEP, steal the system token, and disable DSE (Driver Signature Enforcement).

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Complex
Reliability
Racy
Target: Microsoft Windows (kernel vulnerability)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Local access to a vulnerable Windows system · Ability to execute unprivileged code
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 79 stars
by nmulasmajic · poc
https://github.com/nmulasmajic/CVE-2018-8897

This PoC demonstrates CVE-2018-8897, a local DoS vulnerability in Windows caused by a spurious debug exception when using POP/MOV SS instructions. It triggers a bugcheck by manipulating hardware breakpoints on the SS selector.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Dos
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Windows (x64)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Windows x64 system · Local execution privileges
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
nomisec WORKING POC 4 stars
by jiazhang0 · poc
https://github.com/jiazhang0/pop-mov-ss-exploit

This PoC exploits CVE-2018-8897, a vulnerability in the POP SS instruction handling in Intel CPUs, allowing local privilege escalation by manipulating the SS register during a debug exception. The code tests for vulnerability by triggering specific instructions (int3, syscall) and monitoring register behavior via ptrace.

Classification
Working Poc 95%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Intel CPUs (affecting Linux kernels)
No auth needed
Prerequisites: Local access to the system · Compilation on the target system
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 16, 2026 Full analysis →
metasploit WORKING POC EXCELLENT
by Nick Peterson, Nemanja Mulasmajic, Can Bölük <can1357>, bwatters-r7 · rubypoc
https://github.com/rapid7/metasploit-framework/blob/master/modules/exploits/windows/local/mov_ss.rb

This Metasploit module exploits CVE-2018-8897, a local privilege escalation vulnerability in Windows caused by mishandling of #DB exceptions deferred by MOV SS or POP SS instructions. It uploads a pre-compiled exploit to execute a payload, gaining elevated privileges.

Classification
Working Poc 100%
Attack Type
Lpe
Complexity
Moderate
Reliability
Reliable
Target: Microsoft Windows (x64, excluding XP)
Auth required
Prerequisites: Meterpreter session on target · x64 Windows architecture
devstral-2 · analyzed Feb 19, 2026 Full analysis →

References (48)

Core 48
Core References
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://support.citrix.com/article/CTX234679
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2018/05/08/4
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040849
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_bid
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/104071
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1350
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1347
Exploit, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44697/
Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/05/msg00015.html
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040866
Mailing List mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00013.html
Third Party Advisory mailing-list x_refsource_mlist
https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/06/msg00000.html
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://support.apple.com/HT208742
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1346
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1348
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1354
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_debian
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4196
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040744
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1351
Issue Tracking, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1567074
Patch, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-260.html
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1319
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_debian
https://www.debian.org/security/2018/dsa-4201
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1355
Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20180927-0002/
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1345
Exploit, Third Party Advisory exploit x_refsource_exploit-db
https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/45024/
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1349
Patch, Third Party Advisory, Vendor Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8897
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1352
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1318
Patch, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://patchwork.kernel.org/patch/10386677/
Third Party Advisory, US Government Resource third-party-advisory x_refsource_cert-vn
https://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/631579
Exploit, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
https://github.com/can1357/CVE-2018-8897/
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1524
Mailing List, Third Party Advisory x_refsource_misc
http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2018/05/08/1
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040861
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_redhat
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2018:1353
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_ubuntu
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3641-2/
Third Party Advisory x_refsource_confirm
https://www.synology.com/support/security/Synology_SA_18_21
Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry vdb-entry x_refsource_sectrack
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040882
Third Party Advisory vendor-advisory x_refsource_ubuntu
https://usn.ubuntu.com/3641-1/

Scores

CVSS v3 7.8
EPSS 0.2472
EPSS Percentile 96.3%
Attack Vector LOCAL
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Details

CWE
CWE-362
Status published
Products (24)
apple/mac_os_x < 10.13.4
canonical/ubuntu_linux 14.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 16.04
canonical/ubuntu_linux 17.10
citrix/xenserver 6.0.2
citrix/xenserver 6.2.0
citrix/xenserver 6.5
citrix/xenserver 7.0
citrix/xenserver 7.1
citrix/xenserver 7.2
... and 14 more
Published May 08, 2018
Tracked Since Feb 18, 2026