Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-3369

HIGH · 7.5 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 →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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
Microsoft Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows attackers to cause a denial of service via unspecified vectors, aka "Windows Denial of Service 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

A denial of service vulnerability in Microsoft Windows 10 (Gold and 1511 versions) allows remote attackers to crash affected systems via unspecified vectors. The vulnerability has a CVSS base score of 7.5, indicating network-exploitable attack with low complexity and no authentication required.

MitigationApply the relevant Microsoft security update (MS16-103 or subsequent cumulative updates) to all affected Windows 10 systems. For legacy systems that cannot be patched, implement network-level filtering and IDS signatures as compensating controls.

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:all versions= 1511

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/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 the command prompt or check System Properties to view the Windows 10 build number. Alternatively, run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"'
    Affected if The system runs Windows 10 Gold (initial release, build 10240) or Windows 10 version 1511 (November Update, build 10586)
  2. Confirm build number precisely
    Run 'winver' and note the full version string displayed (for example, 'Version 1607' or 'Build 10586'). Compare your build number against known affected builds for versions Gold and 1511
    Affected if The displayed build number corresponds to Windows 10 Gold or version 1511 releases
  3. Verify security update installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'powershell Get-HotFix -Id KB3189866' in an elevated command prompt. Search for security update KB3189866 (MS16-103)
    Affected if The system is missing security update KB3189866 or subsequent cumulative updates containing the CVE-2016-3369 fix
  4. Assess network exposure
    Determine if the affected Windows 10 system is directly accessible from network sources. Check firewall rules and network segmentation that permit inbound unsolicited network traffic to the system
    Affected if The vulnerable Windows 10 system accepts remote network connections without adequate filtering, as the vulnerability is network-exploitable with low complexity

A system is affected if it runs Windows 10 Gold or version 1511, lacks security update KB3189866 or later cumulative updates, and is network-accessible to remote attackers.

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 (MS16-103 or subsequent cumulative updates) to all affected Windows 10 systems. For legacy systems that cannot be patched, implement network-level filtering and IDS signatures as compensating controls.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
20.0 hours of engineering $3,500
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Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-3369 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2016-3369 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