CVE-2016-7215
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 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, Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607, and Windows Server 2016 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege 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 confidenceWin32k.sys kernel-mode driver elevation of privilege vulnerability allowing local authenticated users to execute arbitrary code in kernel context via a specially crafted application. The flaw exists in how the Win32k driver handles objects in 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 dataall versions= 1511= 1607all versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= r2all versionsall 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
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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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Identify Windows version and buildRun 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the exact Windows edition and build numberAffected if The version is Windows 10 (any build), Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2008/2012/2016, or any variant not yet patched with MS16-135 or later cumulative update
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Confirm Win32k.sys driver is presentRun 'dir C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys' or 'Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys' to verify the driver existsAffected if The driver exists, which is true for all Windows systems with a graphical user interface (GUI)
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Check if MS16-135 security update is installedRun 'wmic qfe list | findstr "KB3199135"' or check Windows Update history for KB3199135 (the security patch for this CVE)Affected if The update KB3199135 is NOT installed, meaning the system is unpatched and vulnerable
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Verify Win32k.sys file version against patched versionRun 'Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys | Select-Object VersionInfo' to read the file version; compare against the version shipped in MS16-135 for your specific Windows buildAffected if The file version is lower than the version included in MS16-135 for your Windows build, indicating an unpatched driver
A system is affected if it runs any unpatched Windows version listed as affected (Windows 10/8.1/7/Vista or Windows Server 2008/2012/2016) and has the Win32k.sys driver loaded, without the MS16-135 (KB3199135) or subsequent cumulative update installed.
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 Microsoft security update MS16-135 (or subsequent cumulative updates) to patch the vulnerable Win32k.sys driver across all affected Windows systems. Prioritize domain controllers and systems with sensitive data access.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 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-2016-7215 — 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-2016-7215 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
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