CVE-2016-7258
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 in Microsoft Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607 and Windows Server 2016 mishandles page-fault system calls, which allows local users to obtain sensitive information from arbitrary processes via a crafted application, aka "Windows Kernel Memory Address 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 confidenceA kernel-level vulnerability in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 allows local users to read memory addresses from arbitrary processes by exploiting improper handling of page-fault system calls. The flaw enables disclosure of kernel memory addresses, which could facilitate bypass of security mechanisms like ASLR.
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 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
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/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 the Windows operating system versionRun 'winver' or check System Properties to confirm if the system is Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016Affected if The system is running Windows 10 (any version including 1511 or 1607) or Windows Server 2016 (any version)
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Verify if the MS16-135 security update is installedOpen Control Panel > Programs and Features > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' command, and search for KB3198585 or KB3197874 (the patches for this CVE)Affected if The MS16-135 update (KB3198585 for Windows 10 1607, KB3197874 for Windows 10 1511, or respective cumulative updates) is NOT installed on an affected Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 system
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Confirm the vulnerability exists in the kernelThis is a kernel-level flaw in page-fault system call handling - the vulnerability is present in unpatched Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016 kernels. No specific configuration check is needed beyond version/patch verification.Affected if The system runs an unpatched Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 kernel where local users can trigger page-fault system calls to read kernel memory addresses from arbitrary processes
A system is affected if it runs Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 AND the MS16-135 security update has not been applied, allowing local users to exploit page-fault handling to disclose kernel memory addresses and bypass ASLR.
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 Microsoft security update (MS16-135) to patch the kernel page-fault handling vulnerability. Until the patch is deployed, limit local user privileges and monitor for suspicious applications attempting to access arbitrary process memory.
- 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-2016-7258 — 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-2016-7258 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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