CVE-2017-8540

CRITICALNVD 7.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 5 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictPatch nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 72%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · epss high · public exploitExposed: 0

No vendor fix yet — apply a workaround or compensating control (WAF / firewall / segmentation) and watch for a patch.

The Microsoft Malware Protection Engine running on Microsoft Forefront and Microsoft Defender on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, and 1703, and Windows Server 2016, Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 and 2016, does not properly scan a specially crafted file leading to memory corruption. aka "Microsoft Malware Protection Engine Remote Code Execution Vulnerability", a different vulnerability than CVE-2017-8538 and CVE-2017-8541.

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
9.0(high)
EG Risk
81(Attend)
EG Risk 81/100SSVC: Attend

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
Action: Remediate soon — notable exploitation risk.
EPSS PROB
72%
EPSS %ILE
99%
KEV
⚠ Exploited

Published

May 26, 2017

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (5)

Auto-updated May 19, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Patch available. Sources: microsoft, cisa.
cisa Patch Available🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2017-8540
generic🟡 PoC Available

Microsoft MsMpEng - Remote Use-After-Free Due to Design Issue in GC Engine - Windows dos Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/42088/
microsoft Patch Available

Security Update Guide - Microsoft Security Response Center

Security Update Guide - Microsoft Security Response Center. Patch available via Microsoft Security Update

https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2017-8540
generic
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038571
generic
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/98703

Weakness Classification(2)

MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration — the root-cause categories this CVE belongs to.

All Vendor Advisories

(1)

Every vendor that published an advisory referencing this CVE — pulled from our cve_vendor_advisories aggregation. Click any row for the vendor's original advisory page.

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 100× in last 7d / 419× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 1,611 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-09-25 14:55 UTCCISA KEV update
  2. 2026-09-25 14:15 UTCVendor advisory
  3. 2026-09-25 14:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-09-25 10:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-25 06:40 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-09-25 06:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-25 02:54 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-09-25 02:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-24 23:07 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-09-24 23:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-24 19:31 UTCCISA KEV update
  12. 2026-09-24 19:21 UTCVendor advisory
  13. 2026-09-24 19:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-09-24 15:35 UTCEG score recompute
  15. 2026-09-24 15:35 UTCVendor advisory
  16. 2026-09-24 15:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-24 13:59 UTCEPSS rescore
  18. 2026-09-24 11:48 UTCVendor advisory
  19. 2026-09-24 11:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-24 08:02 UTCVendor advisory
  21. 2026-09-24 08:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-09-24 04:16 UTCVendor advisory
  23. 2026-09-24 04:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-09-24 00:29 UTCVendor advisory
  25. 2026-09-24 00:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-09-23 20:43 UTCVendor advisory
  2. 2026-09-23 20:43 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-09-23 16:57 UTCVendor advisory
  4. 2026-09-23 16:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-09-23 13:10 UTCVendor advisory
  6. 2026-09-23 13:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-09-23 09:24 UTCVendor advisory
  8. 2026-09-23 09:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-09-23 05:38 UTCVendor advisory
  10. 2026-09-23 05:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-09-23 01:52 UTCVendor advisory
  12. 2026-09-23 01:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-09-22 22:06 UTCVendor advisory
  14. 2026-09-22 22:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-09-22 19:36 UTCCISA KEV update
  16. 2026-09-22 18:19 UTCEG score recompute
  17. 2026-09-22 18:19 UTCVendor advisory
  18. 2026-09-22 18:19 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-09-22 14:33 UTCVendor advisory
  20. 2026-09-22 14:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  21. 2026-09-22 10:46 UTCVendor advisory
  22. 2026-09-22 10:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-22 07:00 UTCVendor advisory
  24. 2026-09-22 07:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-22 03:14 UTCVendor advisory
  26. 2026-09-22 03:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-09-21 23:28 UTCEG score recompute
  28. 2026-09-21 23:28 UTCVendor advisory
  29. 2026-09-21 23:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-09-21 20:27 UTCEPSS rescore
  31. 2026-09-21 19:42 UTCVendor advisory
  32. 2026-09-21 19:42 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-09-21 19:09 UTCCISA KEV update
  34. 2026-09-21 15:55 UTCVendor advisory
  35. 2026-09-21 15:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-21 12:09 UTCVendor advisory
  37. 2026-09-21 12:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-09-21 08:23 UTCVendor advisory
  39. 2026-09-21 08:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-09-21 04:35 UTCVendor advisory
  41. 2026-09-21 04:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-09-21 00:45 UTCVendor advisory
  43. 2026-09-21 00:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-09-20 20:58 UTCVendor advisory
  45. 2026-09-20 20:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-09-20 17:12 UTCVendor advisory
  47. 2026-09-20 17:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-09-20 13:24 UTCVendor advisory
  49. 2026-09-20 13:24 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-09-20 09:38 UTCVendor advisory
  51. 2026-09-20 09:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-09-20 05:51 UTCVendor advisory
  53. 2026-09-20 05:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-09-20 02:05 UTCVendor advisory
  55. 2026-09-20 02:05 UTCGHSA enrichment
  56. 2026-09-19 22:19 UTCVendor advisory
  57. 2026-09-19 22:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-09-19 18:32 UTCVendor advisory
  59. 2026-09-19 18:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  60. 2026-09-19 14:46 UTCVendor advisory
  61. 2026-09-19 14:46 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-09-19 10:59 UTCVendor advisory
  63. 2026-09-19 10:59 UTCGHSA enrichment
  64. 2026-09-19 07:13 UTCVendor advisory
  65. 2026-09-19 07:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  66. 2026-09-19 03:26 UTCVendor advisory
  67. 2026-09-19 03:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-09-18 23:40 UTCVendor advisory
  69. 2026-09-18 23:40 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-09-18 19:54 UTCEG score recompute
  71. 2026-09-18 19:54 UTCVendor advisory
  72. 2026-09-18 19:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-09-18 19:20 UTCCISA KEV update
  74. 2026-09-18 16:07 UTCVendor advisory
  75. 2026-09-18 16:07 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(1 reference)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-42088✓ verified
    First seen May 30, 2017

    Microsoft MsMpEng - Remote Use-After-Free Due to Design Issue in GC Engine

    Open source ↗

Related CVEs(same CWE)

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2017-8540?
CVE-2017-8540 is a critical vulnerability published on May 26, 2017. The Microsoft Malware Protection Engine running on Microsoft Forefront and Microsoft Defender on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607, and 1703, and Windows Server 2016, Microsoft…
When was CVE-2017-8540 disclosed?
CVE-2017-8540 was first published in the National Vulnerability Database on May 26, 2017, with the most recent update on June 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2017-8540 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2017-8540 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on March 3, 2022, affecting Microsoft Malware Protection Engine. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate patching attention.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2017-8540?
CVE-2017-8540 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0.
Which products are affected by CVE-2017-8540?
CVE-2017-8540 affects Microsoft Malware Protection Engine. The full affected-products list, including version ranges and fixed versions, is shown in the Affected Packages section of this page.
How do I remediate CVE-2017-8540?
Patch to the fixed version published by the affected vendor. Where vendor advisories exist for CVE-2017-8540, EchelonGraph cross-links them in the Vendor Advisories panel below — those typically contain the canonical remediation steps, fixed version numbers, and any vendor-specific mitigations.

Dependency Blast Radius

Explore the affected products and dependency analysis for CVE-2017-8540

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