CVE-2016-3335
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 Common Log File System (CLFS) driver 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, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607, and Windows Server 2016 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows Common Log File System Driver Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0026, CVE-2016-3332, CVE-2016-3333, CVE-2016-3334, CVE-2016-3338, CVE-2016-3340, CVE-2016-3342, CVE-2016-3343, and CVE-2016-7184.
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 confidenceA local privilege escalation vulnerability exists in the Windows Common Log File System (CLFS) driver. Attackers with local access can exploit this kernel-mode driver vulnerability to elevate from a standard user to elevated (SYSTEM) privileges by running a crafted application.
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 versionsall 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
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/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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Verify the Windows version is in the affected rangeOpen Command Prompt or PowerShell and run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to identify the installed Windows edition and versionAffected if The Windows version matches any of these: Windows 10 (all versions, 1511, 1607), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1 (all versions), Windows Server 2008 (all versions, R2), Windows Server 2012 (all versions, R2), Windows Server 2016 (all versions), Windows Vista (all
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Confirm the CLFS driver is presentCheck if the file C:\Windows\System32\clfs.sys exists by running 'dir C:\Windows\System32\clfs.sys' in Command PromptAffected if The clfs.sys file exists on the system, indicating the vulnerable component is present
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Check if MS16-077 security update is installedRun 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-HotFix -Id KB3164035' in PowerShell to see if the MS16-077 update (KB3164035) is appliedAffected if The security update KB3164035 is NOT listed among installed hotfixes, meaning the system is unpatched and vulnerable
If the system runs an affected Windows version listed above, has the clfs.sys driver present, and lacks the KB3164035 update, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2016-3335 privilege escalation.
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 (MS16-077) to all affected Windows systems. This is a local privilege escalation; prioritize patching systems with direct user access.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing3.0 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 $2,800.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3335 — 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-2016-3335 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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