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ExploitedIn CISA KEVFix available

CVE-2016-7255

Exploitation confirmed. First attested on 2021-11-03 by CISA-ADP, CISA KEV, GCVE · kevintel.

  • Published2016-11-10

Am I affected?

With a domain, we read the version its public headers and pages expose. A distribution build can carry the fix under an older number.

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, 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."

Timeline

dates in UTC
  1. 2016-11-1007:00CVE publishedNVD
  2. 2021-11-03Listed as exploited by GCVEGCVE
  3. 2021-11-03Exploitation first reportedCISA KEV
  4. 2021-11-03Added to the CISA KEV catalogCISA KEV
  5. 2025-02-1016:41SSVC exploitation set to activeCISA-ADP
  6. 2026-10-2319:23First public proof of conceptPoC-in-GitHub
  7. 2026-10-2319:23EPSS crossed 10 %FIRST EPSS

Observed activity

isMalicious corpus · updated 2026-10-23 18:48 UTC
Indicators tagged with this CVE, per day0 indicators over 7 days
Block these indicators
  • Firewall list (EDL, text): https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2016-7255?format=txt
  • CSV export: https://api.ismalicious.com/edl/cve/CVE-2016-7255?format=csv
  • TAXII collection of exploited CVEs
  • The EDL and CSV take an API key on the Pro plan.

Versions per branch

NVD
Microsoft windows server 2008
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published
—= r2no fix published
Microsoft windows server 2012
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published
—= r2no fix published
Microsoft windows 10 1507
BranchAffectedFixed in
—all versionsno fix published

7 more products in the sources.

as publishedRanges as NVD and OSV publish them; a distribution’s build can be fixed under an older number.

Fix

  1. CISA’s required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.due 2022-05-03

Advisories and patches

Detection

read 2026-10-23 19:23 UTC
Nuclei template
none so far
ProjectDiscovery
Exploit-DB
no entry
Exploit-DB
Proof-of-concept repositories
5 repositories, unverifiedheh3/CVE-2016-7255FSecureLABS/CVE-2016-7255homjxi0e/CVE-2016-7255yuvatia/page-table-exploitationbbolmin/cve-2016-7255_x86_x64
PoC-in-GitHub

CISA Known Exploited Vulnerability

Date Added
2021-11-03
Patch Due Date
2022-05-03
Ransomware Use
Unknown
Required Action
Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Sources

Technical details

CVSS v3 Vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Published
2016-11-10
Last Modified
2026-09-10
NVD status
Analyzed

Frequently asked questions

What is 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."

Is CVE-2016-7255 actively exploited?

Yes. CVE-2016-7255 is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, meaning it has been confirmed as actively exploited in the wild. CISA requires federal agencies to patch by 2022-05-03.

What is the CVSS score for CVE-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (HIGH severity), with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

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