Background exploitation KEV catalog
CVE-2016-0165

Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability

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…

CheckOps priority index
5.3/10 Patch within 7 days
Severity7.8
Probability1.4
Exploitation3/5

Severity = CVSS. Probability = EPSS (FIRST). Exploitation = public signals: KEV, EUVD, ransomware, EPSS above 10 %, no account required.

EPSS · today 13.7% higher than 96.5% of CVEs
CVSS 3.1 7.8 AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:
Exploited for 1,230 days 22 Jun 2023
CISA due date 13 Jul 2023 for US federal agencies

Exploitation probability EPSS · FIRST

05010026 Sep05 Oct15 Oct24 Oct02 Nov
EPSS probability (%)Percentile among all CVEs

Exploitation signals 3 / 5

  • KEV catalog (CISA)22 Jun 2023
  • Exploited in EUVD (ENISA)22 Jun 2023
  • Used by ransomwareno
  • EPSS above 10 %13.7%
  • No account, over the networkno

What to do

Fix

Apply the vendor’s fix as soon as it is available.

CISA guidance: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Meanwhile

Take the service off the internet or restrict access to it, watch the logs and look for signs of compromise.

Manufacturers (CRA)

Exploited vulnerability in your product: early warning to ENISA within 24 h, then notification within 72 h (Article 14 of the Cyber Resilience Act). The CRA explained

Description ENISA EUVD

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.

Affected products

Win32k
Weaknesses (CWE)

Open source packages OSV

Affected libraries according to OSV, with fixed versions.

Timeline

  1. Published

  2. Exploitation reported (ENISA)

  3. Added to the KEV catalog

  4. CISA remediation due date

  5. EPSS peak: 13.7%

References

Other exploited vulnerabilities from the same vendor

  • CVE-2026-96951Microsoft Windows Command Injection Vulnerability
    5.6 · Actively exploited
  • CVE-2026-65660Microsoft SharePoint Code Injection Vulnerability
    5.0 · Actively exploited
  • CVE-2026-85880Microsoft Windows Heap-Based Buffer Overflow Vulnerability
    4.3 · Actively exploited
  • CVE-2026-81963Microsoft Windows Link Following Vulnerability
    4.3 · Actively exploited
  • CVE-2019-1068Microsoft SQL Server Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
    7.0 · Actively exploited
  • CVE-2026-69836Microsoft Entra
    5.3 · Actively exploited

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Sources: CISA KEV · ENISA EUVD · FIRST EPSS · OSV. Public data aggregated by CheckOps, updated automatically. Source texts remain the property of their authors. All exploited vulnerabilities