CVE-2016-0165Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
CVE-2016-0165 is a vulnerability in Microsoft Win32k, rated high (7.8 on CVSS 3.1).
Why this priority: Exploited in the wild: listed in CISA's KEV catalog.
Published · Updated · NVD status: Analyzed
What it is
The record does not classify the weakness yet; the description below says what the reporter found.
How it is reached
An attacker can exploit it by someone who can already run code or sign in on the machine, without an account, but someone has to act first, such as opening a file or following a link.
What an attacker gains
A successful attack can read the data it protects, change data or behaviour and take it offline.
Is it being exploited?
CISA added it to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2023-06-22: it is being exploited in the wild. EPSS estimates a 14% chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 97% of scored CVEs.
What to do
- Treat it as urgent: it is on CISA's KEV list. CISA's deadline for US federal agencies: 2023-07-13.
- Apply the fix for Microsoft Win32k: the patch and release notes are linked below.
- Limit who can run code or sign in on the hosts that run it.
- Warn the people who use it, and filter files and links on the way in.
- Check exposed instances for signs of compromise, not only for the version.
Description from NVD
The kernel-mode driver 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, and Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0143 and CVE-2016-0167.
What this means for your architecture.
A CVE names a product. Whether it matters depends on where that product sits in your systems: what reaches it, which trust boundary it guards and what it can reach once compromised. Veriom maps your components, their relationships and your trust boundaries from your code, cloud and delivery evidence, so you can see where a component like this sits. The radar itself does not look at your systems.
Components it touches
- Operating systems on servers, workstations or devices. Everything on the host inherits the flaw.
Trust boundaries in play
- Host boundary. The attacker needs a foothold on the machine first; the flaw turns a small foothold into a bigger one.
- People who open files and links. Mail, chat and browsers are the delivery path.
Questions to answer about your own systems
- Where does Microsoft Win32k run in your systems, and at which version?
- Which of those hosts also run code or users you do not fully trust?
- What can it reach once compromised: which data stores, secrets and services?
Read more
Sources
- CVE records and CVSS scores from the NVD CVE API. This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.
- Exploitation status from CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.
- Exploit likelihood from FIRST’s Exploit Prediction Scoring System (EPSS), refreshed daily.
- Explanations are written by Veriom from fixed templates over each record’s data, not by a person reviewing each CVE. Descriptions are quoted from the records as published.