CVE-2016-0180
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 kernel 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 mishandles symbolic links, which allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows Kernel 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 · moderate confidenceThis is a Windows Kernel elevation of privilege vulnerability where the kernel incorrectly processes symbolic links, allowing a local authenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code with elevated (SYSTEM) privileges by running a specially crafted application.
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 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version and build numberAffected if The version is Windows 10 (all versions including 1511), Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2012, Windows Vista, or Windows Server 2012 R2
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Confirm security update KB3140735 is installedRun 'wmic qfe list | findstr KB3140735' or check Windows Update history for the presence of KB3140735 (MS16-039)Affected if The update KB3140735 is NOT installed and the Windows version is among the affected products listed
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Verify symbolic link handling exposureThis is a kernel-level vulnerability in symbolic link processing. There is no user-accessible config to check. Detection relies on version/patch status rather than configuration inspection.Affected if System is unpatched and falls within the affected product versions - no user-facing config check applies here
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Check for suspicious SYSTEM processes (post-exploitation indicator)Run 'tasklist /V /FI "SESSIONNAME eq Console"' and review processes running as SYSTEM that were not initiated by known system accounts. Also check 'wmic process where "name='explorer.exe'" get processid,parentprocessid,commandline'Affected if Unexpected processes running as SYSTEM with elevated privileges that cannot be attributed to normal system activity
The environment is likely affected if the Windows version matches the affected products list AND security update KB3140735 is not 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 Microsoft security update KB3140735 (MS16-039) or later cumulative security update for the affected Windows version. For systems where patching is not immediately possible, restrict local user permissions and monitor for suspicious executable activity.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0180 — 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-2016-0180 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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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.
- 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
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