CVE-2018-8653 — Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability

Triage

Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.

CISA SSVC assessment CISA

Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.

Remediation

Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.

• Documented patch — portal.msrc.microsoft.com (NIST National Vulnerability Database)

CISA required action CISA

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

US federal deadline: May 3, 2022 — passed 1626 day(s) ago

First 24 hours

Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.

1. Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Internet Explorer 10, Microsoft Internet Explorer 11…).
2. Treat as emergency remediation: the CVE is in CISA KEV (confirmed exploitation).
3. The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
4. Apply the fixed version or the patch documented under Remediation.
5. Exploitation requires user interaction: tighten email/web filtering and warn affected users.
6. EPSS ahead of 98% of scored CVEs: prioritize it in the patch queue.
7. Search available logs for exploit probes matching the vulnerability class (memory corruption), errors and authentication anomalies.

Affected scope

Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.

Attack characteristics

The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.

Every base score collected

Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.

Weakness MITRE

Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.

CWE-787 · Out-of-bounds Write

Other CVEs with this weakness →

CISA KEV details CISA

CISA lists a CVE once it has evidence of exploitation against real targets.

CISA records ransomware use only for campaigns it has confirmed, so “Unknown” means unrecorded, not ruled out. The deadline binds US federal agencies; for everyone else it is a reference date.

EPSS over time FIRST

Oct 13, 2026 → Oct 14, 2026 · 2 reading(s) · max 29.61%

Detection

Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.

• Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
• Correlate service crashes/restarts with inbound traffic; repeated crashes may indicate attempts.
• Hunt retroactively in logs from before Nov 3, 2021 (KEV listing): exploitation may have started earlier.

Timeline

What happened to this CVE, newest first.

• 2026
• Fix documented
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Affected products added · microsoft/internet explorer
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Source status changed · Published → Analyzed
  Oct 13, 2026 · NIST National Vulnerability Database
• Record published
  Oct 13, 2026
• Affected products added · microsoft/internet explorer 9, microsoft/internet explorer 11, microsoft/internet explorer 10
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• CVSS changed · 7.5
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Source status changed · → Published
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• SSVC assessment updated
  Oct 13, 2026 · CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• Added to CISA KEV (detected)
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• Record created in this database
  Oct 13, 2026 · CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities
• 2021
• Added to CISA KEV catalog
  Nov 2, 2021 · CISA
• 2018
• CVE published
  Dec 20, 2018 · microsoft

Source activity

Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.

• 3× References added · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026
• 1× Official description updated · Oct 13, 2026 – Oct 13, 2026

References

5 on the record

• portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2018-8653
  x_refsource_CONFIRM, Patch, Vendor Advisory, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP
• www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog
  US Government Resource, NIST National Vulnerability Database
• github.com/advisories/GHSA-hxxf-h94r-73mv
  GitHub Security Advisories
• nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-8653
  GitHub Security Advisories
• www.securityfocus.com/bid/106255
  vdb-entry, x_refsource_BID, Broken Link, Third Party Advisory, VDB Entry, CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP

Elsewhere on this site

Related CVEs (same products)

• High CVE-2021-27085 Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability KEV Mar 11, 2021
• High CVE-2021-26411 Microsoft Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Mar 11, 2021
• Medium CVE-2020-0878 Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Sep 11, 2020
• High CVE-2020-1380 Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Aug 17, 2020
• High CVE-2020-0968 Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Apr 15, 2020
• High CVE-2020-0674 Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability KEV Feb 11, 2020

Not in any source we poll

Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.

• No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
• No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
• No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.

Answered from this record

Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.

What should defenders know first?

CVE-2018-8653 is "Microsoft Internet Explorer Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability", rated High. It affects Internet Explorer (Microsoft); versions are in the scope table. It is in CISA KEV: there is evidence of real-world exploitation. CVSS 7.5 describes technical severity. EPSS 29.61% estimates the probability of exploitation in 30 days; neither replaces your asset context. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.

Comments

Moderated technical discussion. Read the community guidelines.

No comments yet.

Sign in or create an account to comment and suggest corrections.