dbcve.org
Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-3356

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-09-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
No privileges

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 · unedited
The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) in Microsoft Windows 10 1607 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted document, aka "GDI Remote Code Execution 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 confidence

The Graphics Device Interface (GDI) in Microsoft Windows 10 version 1607 contains a vulnerability that allows remote code execution when a user opens a specially crafted document. The attacker can execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update to affected Windows 10 1607 systems and exercise caution when opening documents from untrusted or unverified sources.

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
Windows 10Operating system
Affected:= 1607

CVSS 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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Windows 10 version
    Run 'winver' from command prompt or check System Properties, or run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
    Affected if The version shown is Windows 10 version 1607 (also known as the Anniversary Update)
  2. Confirm GDI component is present
    The Graphics Device Interface (gdi32.dll) is a core Windows component and is present by default. Check existence at %SystemRoot%\System32\gdi32.dll
    Affected if The gdi32.dll file exists on the system (this is true for all standard Windows installations)
  3. Check GDI file version
    Right-click gdi32.dll in %SystemRoot%\System32\ and select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the File Version
    Affected if The file version matches the one included in Windows 10 1607 and lacks the security update for CVE-2016-3356 (specific version numbers vary by Windows update status)

You are affected if your Windows 10 system is version 1607 and the GDI component has not been patched with the relevant Microsoft security update.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the relevant Microsoft security update to affected Windows 10 1607 systems and exercise caution when opening documents from untrusted or unverified sources.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,570
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Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3356 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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