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Windows 10Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-7211

HIGH · 7.3 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 →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated

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 kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability." a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3266, CVE-2016-3376, and CVE-2016-7185.

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

Elevation of privilege vulnerability in Win32k kernel-mode drivers allows local authenticated attackers to run specially crafted code and gain elevated system privileges on affected Windows systems.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS16-135 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected systems. For unpatched systems, limit local user privileges and monitor for indicators of compromise using endpoint detection tools.

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= 1607
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Low
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows edition and version
    Affected if The system is Windows 10 (all versions, 1511, 1607), Windows 7 (all versions), Windows 8.1 (all versions), Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008 (all versions, R2), Windows Server 2012 (all versions, R2), or Windows Vista (all versions)
  2. Check win32k.sys driver version
    Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run 'driverquery /v | findstr win32k' or navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\win32k.sys, right-click > Properties > Details to view the File Version
    Affected if The win32k.sys version is lower than the patched version (for example, on Windows 10 version 1607 the patched version is 10.0.14393.447 or higher)
  3. Verify MS16-135 security update is installed
    Run 'wmic qfe list' or 'Get-HotFix -Id KB3199135' in PowerShell to check if the MS16-135 update (KB3199135) is present
    Affected if The update KB3199135 (MS16-135) is NOT installed on the system

The system is affected if it runs any of the listed affected Windows versions AND the win32k.sys driver version is below the patched version AND the MS16-135 update (KB3199135) is not installed.

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 Microsoft security update MS16-135 (or subsequent relevant patches) to all affected systems. For unpatched systems, limit local user privileges and monitor for indicators of compromise using endpoint detection tools.

Fix this in Windows 10 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
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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-2016-7211 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