CVE-2016-3311
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 kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2; Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1; Windows 7 SP1; Windows 8.1; Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2; Windows RT 8.1; and Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3308, CVE-2016-3309, and CVE-2016-3310.
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 confidenceWin32k.sys kernel-mode driver vulnerability in Windows Vista through Windows 10 allows local authenticated users to elevate privileges to SYSTEM level via a specially crafted application. The flaw exists in how the Win32k component handles certain kernel-mode 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 dataall versions= 1511= 1607all versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= r2all 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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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Identify Windows version and buildRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to get the exact Windows version and build numberAffected if Version is Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows 10 (any build), Windows Rt 8.1, or Windows Server 2008/2008 R2/2012/2012 R2 without the security update applied
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Check if KB3178465 is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe get hotfixid,installedon' to list installed hotfixes, and search for KB3178465Affected if KB3178465 is NOT listed among installed updates
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Verify Win32k.sys version as secondary checkLocate the file at C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys, right-click > Properties > Details tab to view File VersionAffected if The file version is older than the version shipped with the MS16-101 patch (patch version not publicly enumerated, so treat unpatched systems as affected)
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Confirm local user access existsReview which user accounts have local logon rights using 'net user' or Local Users and Groups management consoleAffected if Any non-admin local user account exists on the system (the vulnerability allows such users to escalate to SYSTEM)
The system is affected if it runs an unpatched Windows version from Vista through Windows 10 (or unpatched Windows Server 2008/2012) AND has at least one non-administrator local user account present.
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 Microsoft security update KB3178465 (MS16-101) or later cumulative updates. For systems where patching is delayed, minimize local user access and monitor for suspicious processes.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3311 — 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-2016-3311 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
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