CVE-2018-8581: in the CISA KEV catalogue
Microsoft Exchange Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability. CISA added CVE-2018-8581 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-03-03 with a default due date of 2022-03-17. Known ransomware campaign use: Known. Forensic triage flag: No.
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists in Microsoft Exchange Server. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could attempt to impersonate any other user of the Exchange server. (CISA description)
- Vendor / product
- Microsoft Exchange Server
- CWE
- Not listed
- CISA required action
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- EPSS
- 28%, percentile 98 (scored 2026-11-03)
EPSS puts about 28 in 100 odds (28%) on exploitation activity being observed in the next 30 days. Its score is higher than or equal to that of 98% of scored CVEs. This is a model estimate about exploitation anywhere, not about your environment.
Vendor and reference links (from CISA)
Your own deadline under CISA BOD 26-04 depends on exposure, automatability and technical impact: work it out with the BOD 26-04 calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is CVE-2018-8581 in the CISA KEV catalogue?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2018-8581 (Microsoft Exchange Server Privilege Escalation Vulnerability) to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-03-03. CISA's default due date for it is 2022-03-17.
Is CVE-2018-8581 used in ransomware attacks?
CISA marks known ransomware campaign use as Known for CVE-2018-8581.
What should I do about CVE-2018-8581?
CISA's required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Sources
- CISA, Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog (accessed 2026-11-03)
- FIRST, Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS) (EPSS by FIRST; scores generated by Empirical Security)
- NVD record for CVE-2018-8581