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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0176

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-05-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

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
dxgkrnl.sys in the DirectX Graphics kernel subsystem in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows 7 SP1, Windows Server 2008 R2 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 "Microsoft DirectX Graphics Kernel Subsystem 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 confidence

Local privilege escalation vulnerability in dxgkrnl.sys (DirectX Graphics kernel driver). A standard Windows user can run a specially crafted application to gain elevated (kernel-level) privileges by exploiting improper handling of operations in the DirectX Graphics kernel subsystem.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update KB3147458 (or subsequent superseded update) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, minimize the number of local users with access to affected machines and monitor for suspicious executable activity.

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 10Operating system
Affected:all versions= 1511
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:= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 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 Windows edition and version
    Affected if Version is Windows 7, 8.1, 10 (any build), RT 8.1, Server 2008 R2, or Server 2012 (any version)
  2. Confirm dxgkrnl.sys is present
    Verify the file exists at C:\Windows\System32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys using 'dir C:\Windows\System32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys'
    Affected if The file exists on the system (required for the vulnerability to apply)
  3. Check if security update KB3147458 is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list | findstr "3147458"' or 'Get-HotFix -Id KB3147458' in PowerShell
    Affected if The output is empty - the update is NOT installed, meaning the system is vulnerable
  4. Compare file version of dxgkrnl.sys (optional)
    Right-click dxgkrnl.sys, select Properties, then Details tab; or run 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\drivers\dxgkrnl.sys).VersionInfo'
    Affected if File version is older than the version shipped with KB3147458 (or the update check returns nothing)

A system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version (7, 8.1, 10, RT 8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012) AND security update KB3147458 is not installed.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update KB3147458 (or subsequent superseded update) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, minimize the number of local users with access to affected machines and monitor for suspicious executable activity.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
8.0 hours of engineering $1,420
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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-2016-0176 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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