  We present multi-band photometry and spectroscopy of SN 2018cuf, a Type IIP
("P" for plateau) supernova (SN) discovered by the Distance Less Than 40 Mpc
survey (DLT40) within 24 hours of explosion. SN 2018cuf appears to be a typical
Type IIP SN, with an absolute $V$-band magnitude of $-$16.73 $\pm$ 0.32 at
maximum and a decline rate of 0.21 $\pm$ 0.05 mag/50d during the plateau phase.
The distance of the object is constrained to be 41.8 $\pm$ 5.7 Mpc by using the
expanding photosphere method. We use spectroscopic and photometric observations
from the first year after the explosion to constrain the progenitor of SN
2018cuf using both hydrodynamic light curve modelling and late-time
spectroscopic modelling. The progenitor of SN 2018cuf was most likely a red
supergiant of about 14.5 $\rm M_{\odot}$ that produced 0.04 $\pm$ 0.01 $\rm
M_{\odot}$ $\rm ^{56}Ni$ during the explosion. We also found $\sim$ 0.07 $\rm
M_{\odot}$ of circumstellar material (CSM) around the progenitor is needed to
fit the early light curves, where the CSM may originate from pre-supernova
outbursts. During the plateau phase, high velocity features at $\rm \sim 11000\
km~s^{-1}$ are detected both in the optical and near-infrared spectra,
supporting the possibility that the ejecta were interacting with some CSM. A
very shallow slope during the post-plateau phase is also observed and it is
likely due to a low degree of nickel mixing or the relatively high nickel mass
in the SN.
