CVE-2016-0185
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 · uneditedMedia Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution 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 remote code execution vulnerability in Windows Media Center triggered by opening a specially crafted .mcl (Media Center link) file. An attacker can embed malicious code in the .mcl file that executes with the privileges of the user who opens it, potentially allowing complete system compromise.
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 versionsall versionsall 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
- 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Windows Media Center is installed or enabledOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off, or run 'Get-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName *Media*Center*' in PowerShell to list Media Center componentsAffected if Windows Media Center feature is present and enabled on the system
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Verify the Windows version is affectedRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows versionAffected if The system runs Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8.1 (all versions of these editions)
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Determine if the security update is installedRun 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for security update KB3154070 (MS16-051) or subsequent cumulative security updatesAffected if Security update MS16-051 (KB3154070) or a later cumulative security update is NOT installed
The environment is affected if Windows Media Center is present and enabled, the Windows version is Vista/7/8.1, and MS16-051 or later security updates have not been applied.
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.
dbcve · scopedApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS16-051 or subsequent cumulative updates) to all affected Windows systems. Until patched, instruct users not to open untrusted .mcl files from unknown sources.
MS16‑047 (KB3150220) – Security Update for Windows Media Center
- Identify the operating system version (Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, or Windows 8.1).
- Open Windows Update or the Microsoft Update Catalog.
- Search for the security update MS16‑047 (KB3150220) matching your OS.
- Install the update and restart the computer.
- Verify the update is installed (e.g., view installed updates for "Security Update for Windows Media Center" or check that the KB appears in the update history).
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- 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-2016-0185 — 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-2016-0185 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data