CVE-2016-3256
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 · uneditedMicrosoft Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows local users to bypass the Secure Kernel Mode protection mechanism and obtain sensitive information via a crafted application, aka "Windows Secure Kernel Mode 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 confidenceAn information disclosure vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows local users to bypass the Secure Kernel Mode protection mechanism via a crafted application, enabling access to sensitive information that should be protected by the secure kernel.
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= 1511CVSS 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
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify Windows 10 versionOpen Command Prompt and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine if the system is Windows 10 version 1511 (Build 10586) or earlierAffected if The system runs Windows 10 version 1511 (Build 10586) or any earlier Windows 10 release without subsequent security patches
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Verify security update MS16-087 installationOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'powershell Get-HotFix -Id KB3172985' to check if update KB3172985 (MS16-087) is installedAffected if The update KB3172985 (MS16-087) or a later cumulative update is NOT installed, leaving the Secure Kernel Mode bypass unpatched
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Confirm Secure Kernel Mode is activeRun 'systeminfo' and look for 'Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity' status, or check Registry key 'HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\DeviceGuard\Scenarios\Scenario_0' (HypervisorProtectedCodeIntegrity enabled)Affected if Secure Kernel Mode (Hypervisor-Protected Code Integrity) is disabled or not available on the system
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Check for unauthorized access or suspicious executablesReview Event Viewer logs under Security and Windows Logs > System for Event ID 681 (account authentication) or unexpected process creation events, and use 'wmic process list brief' to identify unknown processesAffected if Evidence exists of a local user running an unauthorized or crafted application that may have exploited the Secure Kernel Mode bypass
A system is affected if it runs Windows 10 version 1511 or earlier AND lacks the MS16-087 security update while Secure Kernel Mode is present and potentially bypassed.
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 Microsoft security update MS16-087 (or subsequent cumulative updates) to address the Secure Kernel Mode bypass in affected Windows 10 versions. Ensure Windows Update is enabled and systems are patched promptly.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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 $1,744.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3256 — 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-2016-3256 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