How severe is CVE-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 has a CVSS score of 7.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 affects the following products: microsoft windows 7, microsoft windows 8.1, microsoft windows 10 1507, microsoft windows 10 1511, microsoft windows 10 1607, microsoft windows rt 8.1, microsoft windows server 2008, microsoft windows server 2012, and 2 more.

How do I patch CVE-2016-7255?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2016-7255 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2016-7255 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2016-7255 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2016-7255 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 19 known exploit references for CVE-2016-7255, including 4 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 11 in-the-wild exploitations 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-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 81.0%, placing it in the 100th 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-2016-7255 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2016-7255 (Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation 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. This CVE has been used in known ransomware campaigns. 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-2016-7255?

CVE-2016-7255 affects microsoft windows 7; microsoft windows 8.1; microsoft windows 10 1507; microsoft windows 10 1511, and 6 more product(s). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

Is there exploit tooling available for CVE-2016-7255?

A Metasploit module references CVE-2016-7255, which lowers the barrier to weaponization. Public exploit tooling significantly increases real-world risk — prioritize patching and ensure detection coverage. Exploit tooling should only ever be used in isolated, authorized testing environments.

When was CVE-2016-7255 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2016-7255 was published on November 10, 2016 and was last updated on September 10, 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 · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2016-7255 — Windows 7

HIGH

CVE-2016-7255 is a high-severity (CVSS 7.8) vulnerability in microsoft windows 7. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2021-11-03) and has been used in ransomware campaigns — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

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,…

Published

Nov 10, 2016

Updated

Sep 10, 2026

Affected

10 products

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

19 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2021-11-03 — including use in ransomware campaigns. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2022-05-03.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2016-7255.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

81.0%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk0.00%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2016-7255 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).

Where this sits among everything scored

Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

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."

Affected Products

10 products · 12 configurations

windows 7microsoft

all

windows 8.1microsoft

all

windows 10 1507microsoft

all

windows 10 1511microsoft

all

windows 10 1607microsoft

all

windows rt 8.1microsoft

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-40745doswindows

Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k' Denial of Service (MS16-135)

by TinySec · Nov 9, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-41015localwindows

Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (2)

by Rick Larabee · Jan 8, 2017

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-40823localwindows

Microsoft Windows Kernel - 'win32k.sys NtSetWindowLongPtr' Local Privilege Escalation (MS16-135) (1)

by IOactive · Nov 24, 2016

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every microsoft windows 7 deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2016-7255 yet — track the microsoft windows 7 advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2016-7255 being exploited in your environment?

Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works

CVE-2016-7255 — Windows 7

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

EPSS Exploitation Probability

How urgent is this, really

Where this sits among everything scored

Description

Affected Products

Detection & mitigation playbook

Detect

Remediation status

Mitigate without a patch

Frequently Asked Questions

Is CVE-2016-7255 being exploited in your environment?