CVE-2016-7255

The kernel-mode drivers 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 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

CVSS: 7.8Highscored by CISA
Exploited in the wild: Yes, in CISA KEV since 3 Nov 2021CISA deadline for US federal agencies: 3 May 2022known use in ransomware campaignspublic exploit code
EPSS: 81.0%chance of exploitation in the next 30 daystop 0.4% of scored CVEsFIRST score of 11 Nov 2026
Fix: Patch availablesee the advisories in the references
Published: 10 Nov 2016analysed here 12 Nov 2026

Do first. Apply updates per vendor instructions. (CISA's required action for this KEV entry)

Summary

Triage

Exploitable: At runtime
Attack vector: local
Can a WAF block it?: No. See why

The summary, impact and action text on this page are written by our AI analysis pipeline, or taken from the NVD description when a CVE was imported from NVD. They are not the vendor's wording: check them against the sources. A longer AI executive summary and technical analysis are generated for signed-in accounts on the Max plan.

Affected products

Products named in our analysis

microsoft:windows_10_1507
microsoft:windows_10_1511
microsoft:windows_10_1607
microsoft:windows_7
microsoft:windows_8.1
microsoft:windows_rt_8.1
microsoft:windows_server_2008
microsoft:windows_server_2012
microsoft:windows_server_2016
microsoft:windows_vista

Fix and mitigation

WAF and other mitigations

Can a WAF block it? No. The attack needs local access to the machine, so a WAF is not on its path.

Also consider: patch

Based on the attack vector (local or physical access). We check Cloudflare, AWS, Google Cloud Armor and Azure; for Akamai, Imperva, Fastly, F5, ask your vendor.

Remediation steps (AI-written)

Step-by-step remediation is generated for accounts on the Max plan, for CVEs that match a technology in their stack. Add this technology to your stack to see the fix checklist.

Exploitation evidence

CISA KEV catalog: Listed since 3 Nov 2021. Known use in ransomware campaigns.
CISA due date: 3 May 2022, the remediation deadline for US federal agencies
CISA required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.
Public exploit code: Yes: 3 on Exploit-DB · 5 GitHub proofs of concept
CISA SSVC: exploitation active, automatable no, technical impact totalAssessed by CISA 5 Mar 2021 (SSVC 2.0.3). Exploitation is none, poc (public proof of concept) or active.

Exploit-DB

Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (2)local, 8 Jan 2017
Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (1)local, 24 Nov 2016
Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k' Denial of Service (MS16-135)dos, 9 Nov 2016

GitHub proofs of concept

and 1 more repositories

Listed so you can judge urgency, not as a recommendation to run anything. GitHub “proofs of concept” are unvetted: some are fake or carry malware. Exploit-DB marks the entries its staff verified.

Timeline

9 Nov 2016First public exploit or proof of concept
10 Nov 2016Published1 day later
5 Mar 2021CISA SSVC assessment: exploitation active1,576 days (about 4 years) later
3 Nov 2021Added to CISA KEV (exploited in the wild)243 days (about 8 months) later
3 May 2022CISA remediation due date (US federal agencies)181 days (about 6 months) later
10 Sept 2026CVE record last updated1,591 days (about 4 years) later
12 Nov 2026Analysed by vulneraibility.com63 days (about 2 months) later

CVSS vector

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Metric	Value	What it means
Attack vector	LocalLocal access required (shell, logged-in user).	Local access required (shell, logged-in user).
Attack complexity	LowRepeatable attack, no special conditions.	Repeatable attack, no special conditions.
Privileges required	NoneThe attacker needs no prior access.	The attacker needs no prior access.
User interaction	RequiredA victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate.	A victim must click, open or otherwise cooperate.
Scope	UnchangedImpact stays within the vulnerable component.	Impact stays within the vulnerable component.
Confidentiality	HighTotal data disclosure possible.	Total data disclosure possible.
Integrity	HighComplete modification possible.	Complete modification possible.
Availability	HighFull outage possible.	Full outage possible.

Common questions

Is CVE-2016-7255 being exploited?

Yes. CVE-2016-7255 appears in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, which means exploitation in the wild has been confirmed and reported. Treat it as active rather than theoretical, and patch it ahead of higher-scoring vulnerabilities that carry no exploitation evidence.

How severe is CVE-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 is rated High with a CVSS score of 7.8. Severity describes how bad exploitation would be, not how likely it is: pair it with exploitation evidence before deciding what to patch first.

Is there a patch for CVE-2016-7255?

Yes. A fix has been recorded for CVE-2016-7255. The vendor advisory is the authority on the exact fixed version — apply it from there rather than from a summary.

What does CVE-2016-7255 affect?

CVE-2016-7255 affects microsoft:windows_10_1507, microsoft:windows_10_1511, microsoft:windows_10_1607, microsoft:windows_7, and 6 further products or versions. Confirm the exact affected versions against the vendor advisory before deciding you are exposed.

Exploitation status reflects CISA's KEV catalog as we last synced it. Check the catalog directly.

References

NVD CVE.org CVE Details Source

12 references in the CVE record, grouped by the tags the record gives them.

Advisories (1)

docs.microsoft.com /en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-135

Exploits (3)

exploit-db.com /exploits/40823/
exploit-db.com /exploits/41015/
exploit-db.com /exploits/40745/

Where the data on this page comes from

CVE List (CVE.org): description, affected versions, references; CVE Terms of Use
NVD: CVSS and CPE data
CISA KEV catalog: exploitation, date added, due date
CISA Vulnrichment (ADP): SSVC decision points
FIRST EPSS: exploit probability and percentile
Exploit-DB: published exploits
PoC-in-GitHub: GitHub repositories that claim a proof of concept

Summary, impact and triage tags: written by our AI analysis pipeline from the sources above. Check them against the sources.

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