CVE-2016-3329
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 Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and Edge allow remote attackers to determine the existence of files via a crafted webpage, aka "Internet Explorer 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 · moderate confidenceThis vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 9-11 and Edge allows remote attackers to determine whether specific files exist on a victim's filesystem through a crafted webpage. The attacker can infer file existence via browser interactions that leak information about the local system, enabling reconnaissance for further attacks.
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= 9= 10= 11CVSS 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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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Check Internet Explorer versionOpen Internet Explorer, click Help > About Internet Explorer. Note the version number displayed (look for version 9, 10, or 11).Affected if The installed version is 9, 10, or 11 - these versions are affected by this vulnerability.
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Check Microsoft Edge versionOpen Microsoft Edge, click Settings (three dots) > Settings > About Microsoft Edge. Note the version displayed.Affected if Any version of Microsoft Edge is installed - all versions are affected by this vulnerability.
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Determine browser usage contextIdentify whether browsers (IE or Edge) are used to access websites, particularly untrusted or external sources.Affected if The browser is used to access web content - exploitation occurs when a user visits a crafted malicious webpage.
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Verify security update statusOpen Windows Update (Control Panel > Windows Update) and check if security updates for Internet Explorer and Edge are installed. Look for MS16-063 (the patch for this CVE).Affected if Security updates MS16-063 (or subsequent cumulative updates containing this fix) are NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable.
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Check browser security zone settingsIn Internet Explorer, go to Internet Options > Security tab. Review the configuration of Internet and Intranet zones, particularly the "Launching applications and unsafe files" setting.Affected if Security zones are set to allow scripts or active content from untrusted sources - this enables the exploitation mechanism.
A system is affected if it runs unpatched Internet Explorer versions 9-11 or any version of Microsoft Edge, and users browse the web with these browsers.
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 affected browser versions. For enterprise environments, enforce browser patching through update management systems and consider additional defensive controls such as restricting browser access to untrusted domains.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,088.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3329 — 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-2016-3329 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