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PatchSiren cyber security CVE debrief

CVE-2016-0167 Microsoft CVE debrief

CISA lists CVE-2016-0167 as a known exploited Microsoft Win32k privilege escalation vulnerability and marks it with known ransomware campaign use. The KEV entry directs defenders to apply updates per vendor instructions. Based on the supplied corpus, the safest response is to prioritize remediation using Microsoft’s official guidance and validate exposure against the official CVE and NVD records.

Vendor
Microsoft
Product
Win32k
CVSS
Unknown
CISA KEV
Listed
Original CVE published
2021-11-03
Original CVE updated
2021-11-03
Advisory published
2021-11-03
Advisory updated
2021-11-03

Who should care

Windows administrators, endpoint and server security teams, vulnerability management owners, incident responders, and any organization tracking CISA KEV items or ransomware-exposed systems.

Technical summary

The supplied CISA KEV metadata identifies CVE-2016-0167 as a Microsoft Win32k privilege escalation vulnerability with known exploitation and known ransomware campaign use. CISA’s required action is to apply updates per vendor instructions. The corpus does not provide affected versions, exploit mechanics, or CVSS data, so validation should rely on the official CVE record, NVD entry, and Microsoft guidance.

Defensive priority

High — treat as urgent because it is listed in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and flagged for known ransomware campaign use.

Recommended defensive actions

  • Apply Microsoft-recommended updates or mitigations referenced for CVE-2016-0167.
  • Prioritize remediation on high-value Windows systems and any endpoints that are difficult to monitor or isolate.
  • Use the official CVE and NVD records to confirm scope before change windows and to align asset inventory.
  • Track this item as a KEV-driven remediation case and treat the supplied due date as historical prioritization context if the vulnerability remains present.
  • Review Windows security telemetry for signs of privilege escalation or follow-on activity on systems that could not be patched promptly.

Evidence notes

The supplied source is CISA’s KEV JSON feed, which lists vendorProject Microsoft, product Win32k, vulnerabilityName Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability, dateAdded 2021-11-03, dueDate 2022-05-03, knownRansomwareCampaignUse Known, and requiredAction Apply updates per vendor instructions. The feed also references the NVD detail page. Official links supplied in the corpus include the CVE.org record, the NVD detail page, and the CISA KEV catalog.

Sources and references

Verified primary and authoritative sources

  • CVE-2016-0167 CVE Program record

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-0167

    CVE Program - Official CVE Program record with source-provided CVE metadata.

  • CVE-2016-0167 NVD vulnerability detail

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-0167

    NIST National Vulnerability Database - Official NIST NVD detail page and source-specific vulnerability assessment.

  • CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

    Publisher, destination, and source semantics verified

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog

    Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency - Official CISA catalog of vulnerabilities known to be exploited in the wild.

Supplemental references

  • Source item URL

    Unverified legacy reference

    URL: https://www.cisa.gov/sites/default/files/feeds/known_exploited_vulnerabilities.json

    cisa_kev

Methodology and review provenance

AI-assisted synthesis based on stored public vulnerability evidence. System validation, approval state, and publication status do not by themselves establish human review of this revision. PatchSiren helps prioritize defensive review and does not prove exposure or remediation on any system.