CVE-2018-8619: Internet Explorer VBScript policy bypass leads to remote code execution

Automated analysis

Generated by VULONE's analysis model from the NVD record, CISA KEV and EPSS data on 20 September 2026. Confidence: medium.

high priorityHigh CVSS severity, public exploit code and a very high EPSS percentile make this a realistic risk for any environment still running affected Internet Explorer versions.

What it is

Internet Explorer's VBScript execution policy fails to properly restrict VBScript under specific conditions, allowing remote code execution. The flaw affects Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11 and is rated HIGH (CVSS 3.0 base 7.5). Because the browser is widely deployed and a public exploit exists, unpatched systems remain a practical target.

Impact

An attacker who convinces a user to load crafted content can execute arbitrary code in the context of the affected browser, giving full compromise of confidentiality, integrity and availability on the victim's system.

Attack surface

Reached over the network via a crafted web page or content rendered by Internet Explorer; the CVSS vector shows no privileges required but user interaction required, so the victim must open or visit the malicious content.

Exploitation

Not listed in CISA KEV, but EPSS is high (0.448, 98.7th percentile) and an Exploit-DB entry (46023) is referenced, indicating public exploit code is available.

What to do

• Apply the Microsoft security update referenced in the MSRC advisory for CVE-2018-8619 as the first action.
• Disable or restrict VBScript execution in Internet Explorer via policy where business use does not require it.
• Retire or migrate off Internet Explorer 9, 10 and 11 to a supported browser.
• Block or tightly control browsing to untrusted sites and enforce attachment/web content filtering.
• Where IE must remain, apply Enhanced Security Configuration and least-privilege user rights.

Detection

• Monitor for Internet Explorer processes (iexplore.exe) spawning script hosts or unexpected child processes such as wscript.exe, cscript.exe or cmd.exe.
• Alert on VBScript engine activity (vbscript.dll) loading in IE sessions that then execute suspicious commands.
• Hunt proxy and web logs for requests to known exploit-hosting domains or the Exploit-DB 46023 payload patterns.
• Review endpoint telemetry for code execution from browser temp directories or unusual memory allocation by iexplore.exe.

This assessment is produced automatically and is not human-reviewed. Verify against the vendor advisory before acting on it.