CVE-2016-3230
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 Search component in Microsoft Windows 7, 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 cause a denial of service (performance degradation) via a crafted application, aka "Windows Search Component Denial of Service 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 confidenceThe Windows Search Component contains a denial of service vulnerability in Windows 7, Server 2008 R2 SP1, 8.1, Server 2012/2012 R2, RT 8.1, and Windows 10 Gold/1511. A locally authenticated user can exploit this by running a crafted application to cause performance degradation of the search functionality.
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 versions= r2all versions= r2CVSS 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
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/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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Check Windows versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the Windows version and build numberAffected if The version matches Windows 7 (any), Windows 8.1 (any), Windows 10 (any or 1511), Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012/2012 R2
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Verify Windows Search component is installedOpen Services (services.msc) and look for 'Windows Search' service, or run 'Get-Service *Search*' in PowerShellAffected if The Windows Search service exists and is installed on the system
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Confirm Windows Search service statusIn Services console, check if the 'Windows Search' service is running, or run 'Get-Service WSearch' in PowerShellAffected if The Windows Search service is running or set to auto-start
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Check for search performance degradationMonitor search query response times using Windows Search, or check Event Viewer under Application and Services Logs > Microsoft > Windows > Search for high-frequency error eventsAffected if Search queries exhibit significant delays, timeouts, or Event Log shows repeated search failures after a locally executed application ran
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Audit local user session activityReview Security Event Logs (Event ID 4624) for recent local logons, and check for unknown or untrusted applications executed around the time search performance degradedAffected if A locally authenticated user executed a crafted application coinciding with the onset of search performance issues
The system is likely affected if it runs an affected Windows version (7, 8.1, 10, RT 8.1, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012/2012 R2) AND has Windows Search enabled, with observed search degradation following local user activity.
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 the relevant Microsoft security updates for this vulnerability (MS16-087) to all affected Windows systems. Prioritize systems with direct user access.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 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 $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3230 — 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-2016-3230 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