CVE-2016-7297
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 scripting engines in Microsoft Edge allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-7286, CVE-2016-7288, and CVE-2016-7296.
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 confidenceMemory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Edge's scripting engines that can be exploited via malicious crafted websites, potentially allowing remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service.
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 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
- High
- Privileges
- None
- User interaction
- Required
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm Microsoft Edge is installedCheck for Edge in the system: look for Microsoft Edge in Start Menu, check C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\ folder, or query via PowerShell: Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Microsoft Edge' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinueAffected if Microsoft Edge is found installed on the system and the system is unpatched
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Determine Edge versionOpen Edge and navigate to edge://settings/help, or query via PowerShell: (Get-Item 'C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft\Edge\Application\msedge.exe').VersionInfo.FileVersionAffected if The installed version falls within the affected window prior to the MS16-145 update (any version prior to the December 2016 security update)
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Check if MS16-145 security update is appliedQuery Windows Update history: run 'wmic qfe list' or check Windows Update via Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, looking for KB3205386 or KB3205388Affected if The security update from MS16-145 is NOT installed (no KB3205386 or KB3205388 in installed updates)
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Verify Chakra scripting engine componentCheck that the Chakra JavaScript engine (chakra.dll) exists on the system at C:\Windows\System32\chakra.dll - this is the vulnerable componentAffected if The Chakra scripting engine is present and the system lacks the December 2016 security patches
A user is affected if Microsoft Edge is installed on the system without the MS16-145 security update (KB3205386 or KB3205388), making the Chakra scripting engine vulnerable to remote code execution via malicious web content.
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 (MS16-145) to address the scripting engine vulnerability. As a temporary workaround, avoid using Microsoft Edge or restrict browsing to trusted sites only.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,224.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2016-7297 — 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-2016-7297 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