{"id":"CVE-2016-3309","kind":"vulnerability","aliases":["CVE-2016-3309"],"related":[],"title":"Microsoft Windows: Microsoft Windows Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability","description":"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; and Windows 10 Gold, 1511, and 1607 allow local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka \"Win32k Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability,\" a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-3308, CVE-2016-3310, and CVE-2016-3311.","summary":"A flaw in the Windows kernel lets an attacker mishandle in-memory objects to escalate privileges. A successful attacker can run arbitrary code in kernel mode.","severity":"high","cvss":7.8,"epss":0.20467,"exploited":true,"exploited_at":"2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00","products":[{"name":"Microsoft Windows","fixed":[],"affected":"","ecosystem":"vendor"}],"ecosystems":["vendor"],"tags":["exploited","infrastructure","ransomware","self-hosted","windows"],"not_affected_if":["patched-systems"],"how_to_check":null,"fix":"Apply the Microsoft Windows update for CVE-2016-3309 per vendor instructions; the specific patch KB is unknown from the sources.","status":"open","published_at":"2016-08-09T21:59:16+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","triaged_at":"2026-10-23T21:22:10+00:00","updated_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","category":"infrastructure","confidence":0.7,"triage":{"at":"2026-10-23T21:22:10Z","model":"claude-haiku-5-5","output":{"fix":"Apply the Microsoft Windows update for CVE-2016-3309 per vendor instructions; the specific patch KB is unknown from the sources.","reach":"local","impact":"high","summary":"A flaw in the Windows kernel lets an attacker mishandle in-memory objects to escalate privileges. A successful attacker can run arbitrary code in kernel mode.","category":"infrastructure","who_cares":["windows","self-hosted"],"confidence":0.7,"needs_auth":"yes","worst_case":"Attacker runs arbitrary code with kernel privileges on the Windows machine.","analyst_note":"Confirm affected Windows builds and patch KB numbers from the Microsoft security bulletin for CVE-2016-3309; check KEV for ransomware use details.","how_to_check":"unknown","needs_analyst":true,"not_affected_if":["patched-systems"],"user_interaction":"unknown","needs_special_setup":"unknown","severity_if_unknown":"high"},"cost_usd":0.000458,"input_tokens":2854,"output_tokens":345,"severity_before":"unknown"},"analyst_status":null,"analyst_note":null,"search":"'-2016':10A,13A,110C,113C,117C '-3308':111C '-3309':11A,14A '-3310':114C '-3311':118C '10':84C '1511':86C '1607':88C '2008':63C '2012':75C '7':69C '8.1':72C,81C 'aka':99C 'allow':89C 'applic':98C 'arbitrari':46B 'attack':32B,43B 'code':47B 'craft':97C 'cve':9A,12A,109C,112C,116C 'differ':106C 'driver':55C 'elev':101C 'escal':7A,39B 'exploit':17B 'flaw':25B 'gain':93C 'gold':76C,85C 'host':22B 'in-memori':34B 'infrastructur':18B 'kernel':5A,29B,49B,53C 'kernel-mod':52C 'let':30B 'local':90C 'memori':36B 'microsoft':1A,3A,15A,57C 'mishandl':33B 'mode':50B,54C 'object':37B 'privileg':6A,40B,94C,103C 'r2':66C,78C 'ransomwar':19B 'rt':80C 'run':45B 'self':21B 'self-host':20B 'server':62C,74C 'sp1':67C,70C 'sp2':60C,64C 'success':42B 'user':91C 'via':95C 'vista':59C 'vulner':8A,104C,107C 'win32k':100C 'window':2A,4A,23B,28B,58C,61C,68C,71C,73C,79C,83C 'windows':16A","nicknames":[],"mitigations":[],"who_affected":null,"tier":null,"verified":{},"analyst_revisit_at":null,"first_public_at":"2016-08-09T21:59:16+00:00","kev":{"dateAdded":"2022-03-15","dueDate":"2022-04-05","requiredAction":"Apply updates per vendor instructions.","knownRansomwareCampaignUse":"Known"},"cvss_vector":"CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H","cvss_by":"nvd@nist.gov","poc_count":0,"sources":[{"source":"kev","external_id":"CVE-2016-3309","url":"https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?search_api_fulltext=CVE-2016-3309","severity":null,"published_at":"2022-03-15T00:00:00+00:00","modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:11:52+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-25T13:39:32+00:00","note":null},{"source":"epss","external_id":"CVE-2016-3309","url":"https://api.first.org/data/v1/epss?cve=CVE-2016-3309","severity":null,"published_at":null,"modified_at":null,"first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T19:13:44+00:00","note":null},{"source":"nvd","external_id":"CVE-2016-3309","url":"https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-3309","severity":null,"published_at":"2016-08-09T21:59:16+00:00","modified_at":"2026-06-17T00:45:28+00:00","first_seen_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","fetched_at":"2026-10-23T21:57:35+00:00","note":null}],"documents":[],"notice":"Free to read at a human pace. An API with keys and an MCP server are in preparation; early access: hello@infrastack.ai"}