CVE-2016-7255KEV · OVERDUE

Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

High · published November 10, 2016

Patch now

Confirmed exploited, and the score agrees

CVSS calls it high at 7.8. It is confirmed in active exploitation. It sits in the 99.6th percentile for exploit probability.

1634
days past CISA
deadline
CVSS v3.1
7.8
EPSS
81%
Percentile
99.6
In the wild
Confirmed
What it is

🚨 A local user can exploit this vulnerability to elevate their privileges, like an unauthorized guest suddenly finding the master key to every room in the hotel! 🔥 Imagine you're at a fancy hotel with restricted access to certain floors. This vulnerability lets a sneaky bellhop use a shortcut behind the counter to access luxury suites that should be off-limits. That’s exactly what this flaw does, giving a local user access they shouldn’t have! If an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they could gain full control of the system, allowing them to install malicious software, access sensitive information, or even take control of other users' accounts. The potential for damage is absolutely devastating!

Put simply

Imagine you're at a fancy hotel with restricted access to certain floors. This vulnerability lets a sneaky bellhop use a shortcut behind the counter to access luxury suites that should be off-limits. That’s exactly what this flaw does, giving a local user access they shouldn’t have! This Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows allows local users to craft an application that tricks the system into granting higher privileges, bypassing normal security measures. It’s a serious loophole in the kernel-mode drivers of various Windows versions.

What to do

If an attacker successfully exploits this vulnerability, they could gain full control of the system, allowing them to install malicious software, access sensitive information, or even take control of other users' accounts. The potential for damage is absolutely devastating! It's crucial to patch your systems immediately to close this vulnerability. Update to the latest security update provided by Microsoft for the affected Windows versions to ensure you’re protected. Regularly check for updates and consider implementing strict user access controls. 🛡️ You've got this! Just follow these steps to lock things down and keep your systems secure! 💪✨

The record
Technical detail
CVSS v3.1
7.8 · HIGH
Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
CVSS v4.0
Not supplied
EPSS
0.80968 · 99.6th percentile
Published
2016-11-10T12:00Z
KEV added
2021-11-03 · due 2022-05-03
Affected products (12)
ProductVersionsFixed in
microsoft/windows_10_1507all versions—
microsoft/windows_10_1511all versions—
microsoft/windows_10_1607all versions—
microsoft/windows_7all versions—
microsoft/windows_8.1all versions—
microsoft/windows_rt_8.1all versions—
microsoft/windows_server_2008all versions—
microsoft/windows_server_2008all versions—
microsoft/windows_server_2012all versions—
microsoft/windows_server_2012all versions—
microsoft/windows_server_2016all versions—
microsoft/windows_vistaall versions—
References (23)
http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/one-bit-rule-system-analyzing-cve-2016-7255-exploit-wild/ · [email protected]http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140468/Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-win32k.sys-NtSetWindowLongPtr-Privilege-Escalation.html · [email protected]http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94064 · [email protected]http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037251 · [email protected]https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-135 · [email protected]https://github.com/mwrlabs/CVE-2016-7255 · [email protected]https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/digging-windows-kernel-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-cve-2016-7255/ · [email protected]https://security.googleblog.com/2016/10/disclosing-vulnerabilities-to-protect.html · [email protected]https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40745/ · [email protected]https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40823/ · [email protected]https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41015/ · [email protected]http://blog.trendmicro.com/trendlabs-security-intelligence/one-bit-rule-system-analyzing-cve-2016-7255-exploit-wild/ · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://packetstormsecurity.com/files/140468/Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-win32k.sys-NtSetWindowLongPtr-Privilege-Escalation.html · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/94064 · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1037251 · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-135 · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://github.com/mwrlabs/CVE-2016-7255 · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://securingtomorrow.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/digging-windows-kernel-privilege-escalation-vulnerability-cve-2016-7255/ · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://security.googleblog.com/2016/10/disclosing-vulnerabilities-to-protect.html · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40745/ · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/40823/ · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41015/ · af854a3a-2127-422b-91ae-364da2661108https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-7255 · 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
EPSS history
Timeline
  • 03 NOV 00:00Z
    Added to CISA KEV — remediate by May 3
    kev
  • 10 NOV 06:16Z
    The kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2…
    cvelistv5