How severe is CVE-2016-0185?

CVE-2016-0185 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which packages are affected by CVE-2016-0185?

Affected package information for CVE-2016-0185 is not yet fully mapped. Check the official advisory links for details.

How do I fix CVE-2016-0185?

No fixed version has been published for CVE-2016-0185 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates, apply mitigations recommended by the vendor, and use O3 Security to track when a fix becomes available in your stack.

Is CVE-2016-0185 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 2 known exploit references for CVE-2016-0185, including 1 documented proof-of-concept exploit on Exploit-DB and 1 in-the-wild exploitation observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2016-0185?

CVE-2016-0185 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 80.2%, placing it in the 99th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2016-0185 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2016-0185 (Microsoft Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2021-11-03. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2022-05-03. The required action was: Apply updates per vendor instructions. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2016-0185?

CVE-2016-0185 affects microsoft windows 7; microsoft windows 8.1; microsoft windows vista. Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2016-0185 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-0185 was published on May 11, 2016 and was last updated on April 22, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

CISA KEV·Added 2021-11-03 — agencies required to remediate by 2022-05-03

CVE-2016-0185

HIGH

Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows…

Published

May 11, 2016

Updated

Apr 22, 2026

Affected

0 pkgs

Patched

None yet

Exploits

2 known

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

80.2%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk99th percentile0.00%

EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.

Description

Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

Affected Products

3 products · 3 configurations

windows 7microsoft

all

windows 8.1microsoft

all

windows vistamicrosoft

all

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-39805remotewindows✓ Verified

Microsoft Windows Media Center - '.MCL' File Processing Remote Code Execution (MS16-059)

by Eduardo Braun Prado · May 12, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Impact-Aware SCA

Is CVE-2016-0185 in your stack?

O3 detects CVE-2016-0185 across dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.

Scan my stack How O3 SCA works

CVSS Score

7.8/10

CVSS v3 base score

Vector breakdown

AV:Attack Vector

Local

AC:Attack Complexity

Low

PR:Privileges Required

None

UI:User Interaction

Required

S:Scope

Unchanged

C:Confidentiality

High

I:Integrity

High

A:Availability

High

Raw vector

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

Weaponization

No known public exploit tooling found.

Timeline

Disclosed

May 11, 2016

First exploit

May 12, 2016

1 day after disclosure — rapid exploitation

KEV added

Nov 3, 2021

Last updated

Apr 22, 2026

Identifiers

CVE-2016-0185

References

Advisorysecurityfocus.com Advisorysecuritytracker.com Advisoryzerodayinitiative.com Advisoryexploit-db.com Advisorysecurityfocus.com Advisorysecuritytracker.com Advisoryzerodayinitiative.com Advisoryexploit-db.com Fixdocs.microsoft.com Fixdocs.microsoft.com Webcisa.gov

Data from OSV.dev, enriched by O3 Security. Refreshed hourly.