CVE-2016-3315
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 OneNote 2007 SP3, 2010 SP2, 2013 SP1, 2013 RT SP1, 2016, and 2016 for Mac allow remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via a crafted OneNote file, aka "Microsoft OneNote 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 confidenceThis is an information disclosure vulnerability in Microsoft OneNote where a remote attacker can craft a malicious OneNote file that, when opened by a victim, allows the attacker to obtain sensitive information from the affected system. The vulnerability affects multiple versions including OneNote 2007 SP3 through 2016 for both Windows and Mac platforms.
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= 2007= 2010= 2013= 2016= 2016CVSS 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/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 installed OneNote version on WindowsOpen OneNote and navigate to File > Account > About OneNote, or view the program in Windows Control Panel > Programs and FeaturesAffected if The version listed is 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016
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Identify installed OneNote for Mac versionOpen OneNote for Mac, click the OneNote menu, and select About OneNoteAffected if The version displayed is 2016 for Mac
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Confirm product edition matches affected variantsVerify whether the installed OneNote is the Windows desktop edition or the Mac edition based on the operating system where the check is performedAffected if The product is OneNote 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 on Windows, or OneNote 2016 on Mac
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Assess user file handling practicesReview whether users in the environment commonly open OneNote files from untrusted or unknown external sourcesAffected if Users routinely open OneNote attachments or files from untrusted or unexpected sources
A user is affected if they have OneNote 2007, 2010, 2013, or 2016 on Windows or OneNote 2016 on Mac, and they open maliciously crafted OneNote files from untrusted sources.
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 updates for OneNote to patch the vulnerability, and implement user awareness training to prevent opening untrusted or unexpected OneNote files from unknown sources.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 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 $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3315 — 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-2016-3315 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