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EdgeWeb browser · Microsoft

CVE-2016-3391

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.0 Published 2016-10-14
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
60/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable 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
Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 and 11 and Microsoft Edge allow context-dependent attackers to discover credentials by leveraging access to a memory dump, aka "Microsoft Browser 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 · high confidence

This is an information disclosure vulnerability in Internet Explorer 10/11 and Microsoft Edge where credentials stored in browser memory can be discovered by analyzing memory dumps. The vulnerability is context-dependent, requiring the attacker to have some form of access to capture or obtain a memory dump of the affected browser process.

MitigationApply the Microsoft security update (MS16-119) to patch Internet Explorer and Edge. Ensure memory dumps are not accessible to untrusted parties and consider implementing credential protection mechanisms to prevent sensitive data from remaining in browser memory.

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
EdgeWeb browser
Affected:all versions
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 10= 11

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
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 checks

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

  1. Identify Internet Explorer version
    Open Internet Explorer, click the gear icon (Settings), select About Internet Explorer. Alternatively, check the version in Help > About. Compare the version number to 10 and 11.
    Affected if The installed version is Internet Explorer 10 or Internet Explorer 11.
  2. Identify Microsoft Edge version
    Open Microsoft Edge, type 'edge://version' in the address bar and press Enter. Alternatively, check the Edge version through the Microsoft Edge Settings > About Microsoft Edge page.
    Affected if Any version of Microsoft Edge is installed (the vulnerability affects all versions of Edge).
  3. Verify memory dump configuration
    Open System Properties (sysdm.cpl), click the Advanced tab, click Settings under Startup and Recovery. Check if a memory dump type is selected (Full memory dump, Kernel memory dump, or Small memory dump).
    Affected if Memory dump is enabled and set to any dump type other than 'None'.
  4. Check crash dump folder permissions
    Navigate to the default crash dump folder (typically C:\CrashDumps or %LOCALAPPDATA%\CrashDumps). Right-click the folder, select Properties, then check the Security tab to see which users have read access.
    Affected if Non-administrator or untrusted users have read permissions to crash dump files.
  5. Review user-mode dump settings
    Open Registry Editor (regedit), navigate to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Windows Error Reporting\LocalDumps. Check if the DumpFolder exists and what permissions are set on that folder.
    Affected if User-mode crash dumps are enabled and the dump folder is accessible to standard users.

You are affected if you are running Internet Explorer 10 or 11, or any version of Microsoft Edge, AND memory dumps (either system crash dumps or user-mode process dumps) are accessible to untrusted users or processes.

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 Microsoft security update (MS16-119) to patch Internet Explorer and Edge. Ensure memory dumps are not accessible to untrusted parties and consider implementing credential protection mechanisms to prevent sensitive data from remaining in browser memory.

Fix this in Edge Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation1.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
6.0 hours of engineering $1,040
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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-2016-3391 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