CVE-2016-7189
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 Chakra JavaScript engine in Microsoft Edge allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine 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 confidenceThe Chakra JavaScript engine in Microsoft Edge contains a memory corruption vulnerability that allows remote code execution when a user visits a crafted malicious website. The vulnerability enables attackers to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user.
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 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
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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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Confirm Microsoft Edge is installedCheck for the presence of Microsoft Edge executable (MicrosoftEdge.exe) in typical installation paths such as C:\Windows\SystemApps\Microsoft.Windows.Edge_cw5n1h2txyewy\ or use PowerShell command: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\MicrosoftEdge.exe' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if Microsoft Edge executable is found on the system
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Identify Edge version in useLaunch Microsoft Edge, navigate to edge://settings/help, or run PowerShell: Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.EDGE | Select-Object Name, VersionAffected if Any version of Microsoft Edge is installed and being used (the CVE states all versions are affected)
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Determine if Chakra scripting engine is activeThe vulnerability exists in the Chakra JavaScript engine which powers Microsoft Edge. This engine is automatically used when Edge processes JavaScript on any webpage. No explicit configuration needed - it is enabled by default.Affected if Microsoft Edge is used to browse the web (the Chakra engine processes JavaScript automatically in Edge)
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Assess browser usage exposureReview network proxy logs, browser telemetry, or enterprise endpoint detection logs to confirm if Microsoft Edge is actively used within the environment. Check default browser settings: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.html\UserChoice for default browser assignment.Affected if Microsoft Edge is set as default browser or is actively used by end users
A system is affected if Microsoft Edge is installed and actively used, since the Chakra JavaScript engine vulnerability (CVE-2016-7189) is present in all Edge versions and triggers when processing malicious JavaScript from websites.
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 relevant Microsoft security update (MS16-119 or subsequent cumulative update) to patch the Chakra scripting engine vulnerability in Microsoft Edge.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation3.0 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-2016-7189 — 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-2016-7189 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data