CVE-2016-7249
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 · uneditedMicrosoft SQL Server 2016 does not properly perform a cast of an unspecified pointer, which allows remote authenticated users to gain privileges via unknown vectors, aka "SQL RDBMS Engine 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 · moderate confidenceMicrosoft SQL Server 2016 contains a pointer casting vulnerability in its database engine that allows authenticated remote users to elevate their privileges beyond what their assigned permissions should permit, achieving unauthorized access to higher-privilege operations.
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= 2016CVSS 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
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/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 installed SQL Server versionRun SELECT @@VERSION in SQL Server Management Studio or execute 'sqlcmd -S localhost -Q "SELECT @@VERSION"' to retrieve the exact version and build numberAffected if The version shows Microsoft SQL Server 2016 (any build)
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Confirm SQL Server instance is runningCheck for running SQL Server processes using Task Manager, Services console, or by running 'sc query mssqlserver' (for default instance) or 'sc query mssql$INSTANCENAME' for named instancesAffected if SQL Server 2016 service is running as a server
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Verify remote connectivity is enabledCheck SQL Server Configuration Manager under SQL Server Network Configuration, or run 'EXEC sp_readerrorlog' to search for listening ports (default 1433)Affected if The server is configured to accept remote TCP/IP connections
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Confirm authentication methodCheck the server authentication mode by querying 'SELECT serverproperty('IsIntegratedSecurityOnly')' - returns 1 for Windows-only auth, 0 for mixed modeAffected if Mixed mode authentication is enabled (returns 0), allowing SQL Server authentication logins
If the environment runs Microsoft SQL Server 2016 with remote connectivity enabled and accepts authenticated remote connections, the environment is potentially affected by this privilege escalation vulnerability.
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 for SQL Server 2016 and review database user role assignments to ensure adherence to least-privilege principles.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 h
- Testing12.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $7,616.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7249 — 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-2016-7249 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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