CVE-2016-7257
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 GDI component in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Office for Mac 2011, and Office 2016 for Mac allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via a crafted web site, aka "GDI Information Disclosure 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 confidenceGDI (Graphics Device Interface) information disclosure vulnerability allowing remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via a crafted website. The flaw allows reading data from memory that should not be accessible, potentially exposing session tokens, credentials, or other sensitive data in process 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 data= 2011= 2016all versionsall versions= r2all 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
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
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 versionRun 'winver' or check System Properties to determine if the system is Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2. These are the affected versions per the CVE.Affected if The installed Windows version is Windows 7, Vista, Server 2008, or Server 2008 R2 (any build)
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Verify MS16-132 security update is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' command, and search for update KB3204062 or any update listed under MS16-132.Affected if The MS16-132 security update (KB3204062) is NOT installed on the system
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Check GDI32.dll versionLocate gdi32.dll in C:\Windows\System32\, right-click and select Properties, then view the File Version tab. Alternatively run 'dir C:\Windows\System32\gdi32.dll' to see version info.Affected if The GDI32.dll version is older than the version shipped with MS16-132 (the fix), indicating the vulnerability is present
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Check for Office for Mac if applicableIf Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 or 2016 is installed, check the installed version via About dialog in any Office application. This CVE affects these specific versions.Affected if Office for Mac version is exactly 2011 or exactly 2016
A system is affected if it runs Windows 7, Vista, Server 2008, or Server 2008 R2 OR Office for Mac 2011/2016, and the MS16-132 security update (KB3204062) has not been 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 updates (MS16-132) to affected Windows versions. For end-of-life systems (Vista, Server 2008, Windows 7), consider compensating controls such as restricting web browsing via application sandboxing or network segmentation, and upgrading to supported OS versions.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7257 — 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-2016-7257 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data