CVE-2016-0133
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedThe USB Mass Storage Class driver in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows physically proximate attackers to execute arbitrary code by inserting a crafted USB device, aka "USB Mass Storage Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe USB Mass Storage Class driver in multiple Windows versions contains a vulnerability allowing physically proximate attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted USB device. This is an elevation of privilege vulnerability where the attacker needs physical access to insert a malicious USB storage device into a vulnerable system.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE dataall versions= 1511all versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versionsCVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Physical
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify the Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build numberAffected if The system runs Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (any version), Windows RT 8.1, or Windows Server 2008 (any version including R2)
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Verify if MS16-038 security update is installedRun 'wmic qfe list | findstr "3147461"' or use PowerShell 'Get-HotFix | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "3147461"}' to check if the MS16-038 update (KB3147461) is presentAffected if The MS16-038 update (KB3147461) is NOT installed on the system
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Confirm USB Mass Storage Class driver presenceCheck if the usbstor.sys driver exists and is loaded by running 'sc query usbstor' or checking the driver file at %SystemRoot%\System32\drivers\usbstor.sysAffected if The USB Mass Storage driver (usbstor.sys) is present and the system lacks the security update
A system is affected if it runs any version of Windows Vista, 7, 8.1, 10, RT 8.1, or Server 2008 and does not have the MS16-038 (KB3147461) security update installed.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataApply the Microsoft security update (MS16-038) to all affected Windows versions. Additionally, restrict physical access to critical systems and disable autorun/autoplay for USB mass storage devices as a defense-in-depth measure.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0133 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-0133 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data