CVE-2016-7254
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 2012 SP2 and 2012 SP3 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 2012 SP2 and SP3 contains an improper pointer cast vulnerability in the RDBMS Engine that allows remote authenticated users to elevate their privileges. The vulnerability stems from unspecified pointer handling during type casting 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= 2012CVSS 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 SQL Server versionExecute query: SELECT @@VERSION; or check SQL Server error log at C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.INSTANCE_NAME\MSSQL\Log\ERRORLOGAffected if The version string shows Microsoft SQL Server 2012 (not 2014, 2016, or later)
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Determine Service Pack levelExecute: SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('ProductLevel'); or check registry key: HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL11.INSTANCE_NAME\Setup\PatchLevelAffected if The Service Pack is SP2 or SP3 (SP0, SP1, or SP4+ would indicate not in the affected range)
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Confirm instance name for accurate version checkExecute: SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('InstanceName'); to identify the named instance, then check its specific version in registry or via SELECT SERVERPROPERTY('ProductVersion')Affected if Instance is running SQL Server 2012 as confirmed by version 11.x format (11.0.xxxx)
The environment is affected if SQL Server 2012 is installed with Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3 applied.
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 patch MS16-136 (or subsequent cumulative updates) for SQL Server 2012. Prior to production deployment, test in a non-production environment to verify compatibility and ensure database functionality remains intact.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing4.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,968.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7254 — 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-2016-7254 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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