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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 18 Apr 2022.
JscriptApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0189

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-05-11
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Public exploit Remotely reachable 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 Microsoft (1) JScript 5.8 and (2) VBScript 5.7 and 5.8 engines, as used in Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and other products, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0187.

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

Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft JScript 5.8 and VBScript 5.7/5.8 scripting engines used in Internet Explorer 9-11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a specially crafted webpage. This is a use-after-free or similar memory corruption flaw in the scripting engine's handling of objects.

MitigationApply Microsoft security updates (MS16-006 or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Windows systems. Consider disabling JScript/VBScript execution in Internet Explorer or using Enhanced Protected Mode as additional hardening if patching is delayed.

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
JscriptApplication
Affected:= 5.8
VbscriptApplication
Affected:= 5.7= 5.8
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 9= 10= 11

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
Network
Complexity
High
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/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 installed JScript version
    Locate the jscript.dll file on the system and check its file version property. On Windows systems, this DLL is typically found in the System32 folder. Use PowerShell or File Explorer to view the version details of jscript.dll.
    Affected if The JScript version is exactly 5.8, as this specific version is listed as affected by CVE-2016-0189.
  2. Identify installed VBScript version
    Locate the vbscript.dll file on the system and check its file version property. This DLL is typically found in the System32 folder. Use PowerShell or File Explorer to view the version details of vbscript.dll.
    Affected if The VBScript version is exactly 5.7 or 5.8, as these versions are listed as affected by CVE-2016-0189.
  3. Identify Internet Explorer version
    Open Internet Explorer and navigate to Help > About Internet Explorer, or type 'iexplore.exe' in the Run dialog with the '-version' flag if supported, to determine the installed version number.
    Affected if Internet Explorer version 9, 10, or 11 is installed, as these versions are listed as affected by CVE-2016-0189.
  4. Confirm JScript or VBScript execution is enabled
    In Internet Explorer, verify that Active Scripting (JScript/VBScript) is enabled. This can be checked in Internet Options under the Security tab by configuring Custom Level settings for the appropriate zone, or by examining the Windows registry key that controls script execution settings.
    Affected if JScript 5.8 or VBScript 5.7/5.8 is present AND the scripting engine is accessible to Internet Explorer, allowing specially crafted webpages to execute scripts.

A system is affected if it has JScript 5.8, VBScript 5.7 or 5.8, or Internet Explorer 9-11 installed, and the scripting engine is enabled and accessible to the browser.

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 Microsoft security updates (MS16-006 or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected Windows systems. Consider disabling JScript/VBScript execution in Internet Explorer or using Enhanced Protected Mode as additional hardening if patching is delayed.

Recommended fix High confidence

Install Microsoft Security Update MS16‑051 (KB3163649) – the June 2016 Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer, which includes the fixed JScript 5.8 and VBScript 5.7/5.8 engines.

  1. Identify the Windows version and installed Internet Explorer version (IE 9, 10, or 11).
  2. Enable automatic updates or go to the Microsoft Update Catalog and download the June 2016 cumulative security update for Internet Explorer (KB3163649, part of MS16‑051).
  3. Install the update for the applicable operating system and IE version.
  4. Restart the computer to apply the changes.
  5. After reboot, verify that the JScript and VBScript DLLs have been updated (e.g., jscript.dll version 5.8.17415.0 or later) using File Properties or the “dir” command.
Caveat The update is a security patch with minimal compatibility risk; test critical line‑of‑business scripts after installation.

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

Fix this in Jscript Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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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-2016-0189 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