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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 13 Jul 2023.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0165

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-04-12
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit No privileges Patch available

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 · unedited
The kernel-mode 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 local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0143 and CVE-2016-0167.

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 confidence

A local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Win32k.sys kernel-mode driver allows unprivileged local users to gain elevated (SYSTEM) privileges by running a crafted malicious application. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of kernel-mode operations in the win32k component across affected Windows versions.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS16-039 or subsequent related bulletins) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious processes.

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 data
Windows 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1511Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions

CVSS 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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version
    Affected if The version matches Windows 10 1507, Windows 10 1511, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2012 R2
  2. Check win32k.sys version
    Locate win32k.sys in C:\Windows\System32\drivers\ and view file properties to see the version number, or run 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys).VersionInfo'
    Affected if The file version is unpatched and matches a vulnerable build for the detected Windows version (versions prior to the MS16-039 fix)
  3. Verify patch status
    Run 'powershell Get-HotFix -Description "Security Update" | Where-Object {$_.HotFixID -eq "3147465" -or $_.HotFixID -eq "3147469"}' to check for the MS16-039 security update
    Affected if The security update is NOT installed (no result returned)
  4. Detect anomalous SYSTEM processes
    Open Task Manager or run 'tasklist /V | findstr "SYSTEM"' and review processes running as SYSTEM that were not launched by known system accounts
    Affected if Unprivileged users have spawned processes running under the SYSTEM account

A system is likely affected if it runs an unpatched Windows version from the affected list, lacks the MS16-039 update, and shows evidence of unprivileged users running processes as SYSTEM.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS16-039 or subsequent related bulletins) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious processes.

Recommended fix High confidence

Windows 10: Upgrade to version 1607 (Windows 10 Anniversary Update) or later; Windows 7/8.1/Server 2008/2012: Upgrade to Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016/2019 as those older versions are end-of-life

  1. Check system information to confirm the exact Windows version and build number (winver command)
  2. For Windows 10 1507/1511: Apply the March 2016 security updates from Microsoft, specifically MS16-039 which addresses this Win32k vulnerability
  3. For Windows 7 SP1: Install security update KB3140745 or later from Microsoft Update Catalog
  4. For Windows 8.1: Install security update KB3140743 or later from Microsoft Update Catalog
  5. For Windows Server 2008 SP2/R2 SP1: Install security update KB3140741 or later
  6. For Windows Server 2012/R2: Install security update KB3140745 or later
  7. For Windows Vista: Install security update KB3140738 or later
  8. After patching, verify the win32k.sys version has been updated (check file properties of C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys)
Caveat Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Server 2012 are end-of-support; continuing to use them carries security and compliance risks; ensure application compatibility before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
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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

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-0165 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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