# CVE-2018-0942: Privilege escalation in Internet Explorer

> Attackers can elevate privileges by exploiting how Internet Explorer handles zone and integrity settings on affected Windows systems.

- **Severity:** Low 2.6 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:H/UI:R/S:C/C:L/I:N/A:N`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Over the internet
- **Victim action needed:** A user has to click or open something
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 14 Mar 2018
- **Updated:** 17 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-v2q2-7wrp-52gx

## What is CVE-2018-0942?

CVE-2018-0942 is a low-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, published on 14 Mar 2018. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.

### Official description

Internet Explorer in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 and R2, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, 1703, 1709, and Windows Server 2016 allow elevation of privilege, due to how Internet Explorer handles zone and integrity settings, aka "Internet Explorer Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability".

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-0942?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Microsoft Internet Explorer.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-0942?

No fix has been published for CVE-2018-0942 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2018-0942 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0942 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Microsoft Internet Explorer

- [CVE-2014-1776](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2014-1776/): Microsoft Internet Explorer Memory Corruption (critical 9.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2021-27085](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-27085/): Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-0222](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-0222/): Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-0210](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-0210/): Microsoft Internet Explorer Privilege Escalation (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)
- [CVE-2017-0149](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2017-0149/): Microsoft Internet Explorer Memory Corruption (high 8.8, exploited in the wild)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-0942 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-0942 is a low-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, published on 14 Mar 2018. An attacker needs administrator access to exploit it, and only if a user opens a file or follows a link.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-0942 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Microsoft Internet Explorer. No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0942/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0942/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-0942
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-0942
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-0942

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-0942/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.