CVE-2016-3349
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 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege 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 a local privilege escalation vulnerability in the Win32k.sys kernel-mode driver affecting Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10 (Gold and 1511). A local attacker with limited privileges can execute a crafted application to elevate their privileges to kernel level.
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= 1511all versionsall versionsall versions= r2CVSS 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 versionRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to confirm the installed Windows versionAffected if The version is Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows 10 (any build)
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Confirm Win32k.sys is presentVerify the kernel driver exists at C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys (this driver is always present on affected systems)Affected if The file exists - the driver is a core component and vulnerability applies to any system with it
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Check if MS16-101 patch is installedRun 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update history for security update KB3178465 (the patch for CVE-2016-3349)Affected if The patch KB3178465 is NOT installed - the system remains vulnerable
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Verify win32k.sys driver versionRight-click win32k.sys in C:\Windows\System32, go to Details tab, or run 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys).VersionInfo.FileVersion' to check the build numberAffected if Driver version is older than the patched build for your Windows version (patched versions include fixes from August 2016)
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Check current user privilegesRun 'whoami /priv' to see current user privileges; the vulnerability requires a low-privilege local user account to be presentAffected if A low-privilege local user account exists on the system (this is the attacker entry point)
A system is affected if it runs Windows 8.1, Windows RT 8.1, Windows Server 2012 R2, or Windows 10 and the MS16-101 security update (KB3178465) has not been installed.
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 MS16-101 (August 2016) which addresses this vulnerability across all affected Windows versions. As defense-in-depth, restrict unnecessary user privileges and monitor for suspicious local privilege escalation attempts.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 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-2016-3349 — 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-2016-3349 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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- 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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