CVE-2026-8398: Daemon Tools Lite Embedded Malicious Code Vulnerability
- Is it exploited?
Yes. CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on , 12 days after the CVE record was published.
- How likely is exploitation in the next 30 days?
- 1.5%
EPSS score, percentile 73.4 of all scored records
- How severe?
- 9.3 Critical
CVSS v4.0 base score, given by the CNA
- What should I do?
CISA deadline . Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
- Which versions are affected?
Affected
- 12.5.0.2421
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
What to do
Required action, set by CISA
Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.
CISA due date for this action: .
Solution (from the CVE record)
Users of potentially infected application are recommended to uninstall the application, run a full system scan using antivirus software with the latest version of the anti-virus databases, and install the latest version of DAEMON Tools Lite (12.6 or newer) from the official website.
Advisories and patches
Linked from CISA's catalog entry
Affected products and versions
As listed in the CVE record.
| Status | Versions |
|---|---|
| Affected | 12.5.0.2421 |
Versions not listed are: unaffected.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
About this vulnerability
Daemon Tools contains an unspecified vulnerability that has a high impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Summary: CISA's KEV catalog, as of .
- CISA added CVE-2026-8398 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 27 May 2026.
- CISA's ransomware flag for this entry is "Unknown": no evidence of ransomware use in the catalog, which is not proof of none.
- The due date CISA sets for the required action is 30 May 2026.
- The CVE record was published on 15 May 2026, 12 days before it was added to KEV.
- The CVE record carries a CVSS v4.0 base score of 9.3 (Critical), given by its CNA.
- FIRST's EPSS model puts the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days at 1.5% (percentile 73.4), as of 28 Oct 2026.
- CISA's SSVC assessment in the CVE record: exploitation active, automatable yes, technical impact total.
Source: CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, 2026.10.28, as of ; CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of ; FIRST Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), v2026.06.15, as of . About the data.
Description
A supply chain attack compromised the official installation packages of DAEMON Tools Lite (Windows versions 12.5.0.2421 through 12.5.0.2434), distributed from the legitimate website daemon-tools.cc between approximately April 8, 2026, and May 5, 2026. Attackers gained unauthorized access to the vendor's (AVB Disc Soft) build or distribution infrastructure and trojanized three binaries: DTHelper.exe, DiscSoftBusServiceLite.exe, and DTShellHlp.exe. These files were digitally signed with the legitimate AVB Disc Soft code-signing certificate, allowing the malicious installers to appear trustworthy and bypass signature-based detection.
Source: CVE List V5 (CVE Program), cve_2026-10-28_0000Z, as of . About the data.
Weakness
- CWE-506: Embedded Malicious Code
CWE and CAPEC are maintained by MITRE; the entries are those named in the CVE record and the KEV entry.
Timeline
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| CVE record published | |
| Added to CISA KEV | |
| CVE record last updated | |
| CISA due date for the required action |