Windows 8.1Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-0190

MEDIUM · 5.5 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 →
57/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
Volume Manager Driver in Microsoft Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT 8.1 does not properly check whether RemoteFX RDP USB disk accesses originate from the user who mounted a disk, which allows local users to read arbitrary files on these disks via RemoteFX requests, aka "Remote Desktop Protocol Drive Redirection Information Disclosure 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

A vulnerability in the Volume Manager Driver in Windows 8.1, Server 2012/R2, and RT 8.1 fails to validate that RemoteFX RDP USB disk redirection requests originate from the same user who originally mounted the disk. This allows local authenticated users to read arbitrary files from mounted USB disks via RemoteFX requests, enabling unauthorized information disclosure.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update for CVE-2016-0190. As a compensating control, consider disabling RemoteFX USB redirection via Group Policy or RDP settings if not required for business operations.

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 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
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
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

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 check System Properties to determine the exact Windows version and build number
    Affected if The system is running Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2012 R2 (any version)
  2. Check if RemoteFX USB redirection is available
    Verify RemoteFX USB Redirection feature is installed: open Remote Desktop Session Host Configuration > check RDP connection properties > Client Settings tab, or inspect the registry key HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\fEnableRemoteFXUSB
    Affected if RemoteFX USB redirection is present or can be enabled on the system
  3. Determine if RemoteFX USB redirection is enabled
    Check Group Policy settings at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Windows Components > Remote Desktop Services > Remote Session Environment > Enable RemoteFX USB Device Redirection, or check the registry value at HKLM\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Terminal Services\fEnableRemoteFXUSB (1 = enabled)
    Affected if RemoteFX USB redirection is currently enabled on the system
  4. Verify USB disk redirection session behavior
    Review RDP connection logs or terminal services logs for USB device redirection activity during RemoteFX sessions
    Affected if USB disk redirection through RemoteFX has been used on the system

A system is affected if it runs Windows 8.1, Server 2012/R2, or RT 8.1 AND has RemoteFX USB redirection enabled, allowing any local authenticated user to access files on USB disks mounted by other users.

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 the Microsoft security update for CVE-2016-0190. As a compensating control, consider disabling RemoteFX USB redirection via Group Policy or RDP settings if not required for business operations.

Fix this in Windows 8.1 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
10.0 hours of engineering $1,750
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-0190 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-0190 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