Microsoft Windows Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2016-3309)
Severity: high · Patch status: patched · Since 2022-03-15 · CVE-2016-3309
A privilege escalation vulnerability exists when the Windows kernel fails to properly handle objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. CISA added CVE-2016-3309 to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on Mar 15, 2022, which means attackers are exploiting it in the wild. CISA reports known use in ransomware campaigns.
What to do
- Apply updates per vendor instructions.
- US federal agencies must remediate by Apr 5, 2022 (BOD 22-01); treat that as the outer limit.
Sources
All live incidents on Threat Watch
