Junglewise Threat Intelligence

CVE-2016-3309: Microsoft Windows Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

CVE-2016-3309 · Severity: critical · CVSS 7.8 · Exploited in the wild · Published 2022-03-15

Technologies: Microsoft Windows 10, Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows 8.1, Microsoft Windows Rt 8.1, Microsoft Windows, Microsoft Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Windows 7. Vendors: Microsoft.

Executive brief

A privilege escalation vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows kernel-mode driver (Win32k) occurs when the kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory. Local attackers can exploit this via a crafted application to execute arbitrary code in kernel mode and gain elevated privileges.

Affected products

  • Microsoft Windows Vista SP2
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2008 SP2, R2 SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 7 SP1
  • Microsoft Windows 8.1 Gold
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Gold, R2
  • Microsoft Windows RT 8.1 Gold
  • Microsoft Windows 10 Gold, 1511, 1607

Timeline

  • 2016-08-09: patched: Microsoft released security bulletin MS16-098 to address this issue.
  • 2022-03-15: kev added: Added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog.
  • 2022-03-15: disclosed: NVD publication date.

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