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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 15 Jun 2022.
Windows 10 1507Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2016-7256

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2016-11-10
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Patch available

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
atmfd.dll in the Windows font library 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 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site, aka "Open Type Font 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 · high confidence

CVE-2016-7256 is a remote code execution vulnerability in atmfd.dll, the Adobe Type Manager Font Driver used by Windows. Attackers can exploit this by hosting a specially crafted OpenType font on a website; when users visit the site, the font library processes the malicious font file without proper validation, allowing arbitrary code execution in the context of the current user.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS16-120 (released November 2016) which patches the font library vulnerability. This is an out-of-band critical update that should be prioritized for deployment across all affected Windows versions.

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 10 1507Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1511Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 10 1607Operating system
Affected:all versions
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

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 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 installed Windows version
    Affected if The version is Windows 10 1507, 1511, or 1607; Windows 7 (any); Windows 8.1; Windows Rt 8.1; Windows Server 2008; Windows Server 2008 R2; Windows Server 2012; or Windows Server 2012 R2
  2. Confirm atmfd.dll presence
    Check if the file exists at System32\atmfd.dll (32-bit) or SysWOW64\atmfd.dll (64-bit) using 'dir %windir%\System32\atmfd.dll'
    Affected if The atmfd.dll file exists on the system (this is the vulnerable component)
  3. Verify font rendering is enabled
    Check the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Drivers\32 for 'FontDriverSource' or verify font services are running
    Affected if Font rendering services are active (enabled by default on affected Windows versions)
  4. Check for MS16-120 security update
    Run 'wmic qfe list | findstr /I "KB3199135"' or check 'Get-HotFix -Id KB3199135' in PowerShell to see if the patch is installed
    Affected if The security update KB3199135 (MS16-120) is NOT installed, meaning the system remains vulnerable

A system is affected if it runs any of the listed Windows versions, contains atmfd.dll, has font rendering enabled, and is missing the KB3199135 security update.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS16-120 (released November 2016) which patches the font library vulnerability. This is an out-of-band critical update that should be prioritized for deployment across all affected Windows versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Where supported, upgrade to Windows 10 20H2+ or Windows Server 2019/2022 for continued security support; however, the primary remediation is applying the MS16-120 patch.

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS16-120, which addresses this vulnerability in atmfd.dll. For Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, install KB3184122 from https://catalog.update.microsoft.com/ or via Windows Update.
  2. For Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012/R2, install the corresponding MS16-120 update (KB3184122).
  3. For Windows 10 versions 1507, 1511, and 1607, install KB3192440 (1511), KB3192441 (1607) respectively, or the bundled MS16-120 cumulative update.
  4. For Windows Server 2016, install KB3192441.
  5. After patching, verify the atmfd.dll version matches the patched version (e.g., 5.1.2.228 or higher for Windows 7).
  6. Restart the affected system to ensure the font driver loads the patched version.
  7. Verify the patch installation via Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, searching for the relevant KB number.
Caveat MS16-120 patch carries minimal risk; however, Windows 7/8.1/Server 2008/2012 are end-of-support, so consider migration to supported OS versions for ongoing patches.

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Windows 10 1507 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation6.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
16.0 hours of engineering $2,880
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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-2016-7256 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