CVE-2016-0040

CRITICALNVD 7.89.0▲
EchelonGraph scoreHIGH confidence

Score elevated to 9.0 because this CVE is listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-28), indicating real-world exploitation has been confirmed by US federal agencies. NVD baseline CVSS 7.8 retained for reference. Confidence: HIGH.

Triggered by: CISA KEV (actively exploited)
Sources: cisa_kev, epss, ghsa, nvd
Trending — 3 sources updated this weekExploited in the wild
9.0EG
EchelonGraph verdictMitigate nowTreat as an emergency — this is being exploited.
  • Actively exploited in the wild (CISA-KEV)
CISA-KEV: ExploitedEPSS PROB: 24%CVSS: 7.8Exploit: cisa kev · ssvc active · Metasploit · Exploit-DB (verified) · epss top5pct · public exploitExposed services: Not assessed

A fix is referenced (a reference tagged "Patch", often a source commit), but no release containing it is confirmed — find the release that contains it; until it is applied, mitigate (WAF / firewall / segmentation).

The kernel in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 SP1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."

CVSS v3
7.8
EG Score
9.0CRITICALhigh confidence
EG Risk
81
EG Risk 81/100CISA SSVC

EG Risk is EchelonGraph's 0–100 priority score: it fuses intrinsic severity with real-world exploitation and automatability so you can rank equal-severity CVEs and fix the most dangerous first. Higher = act sooner. Distinct from the 0–10 EG Score (severity).

How it’s computed
Severity90% × 45%
Exploitation100% × 40%
Automatability0% × 15%
CISA SSVC: Track at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.
Action: A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.
EPSS PROB
24%
EPSS %ILE
97th
KEV
⚠ Exploited

CISA SSVCTrack at low, Attend at medium and Act at high mission impact.

A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that within your standard update timelines at low, sooner than that at medium and as soon as possible at high mission impact; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.

Exploitation active (CISA Vulnrichment) · Automatable no (CISA Vulnrichment) · Technical impact total (CISA Vulnrichment). Mission impact is CISA's Mission & Well-being decision point, and only you can judge it: high means the affected system is essential to your organisation's mission, or its compromise could cause irreversible harm to people. CISA's decision table

Published

February 10, 2016

Last Modified

June 17, 2026

Advisory Details (4)

Auto-updated May 19, 2026
⚠️ Active exploitation confirmed. Fix referenced — no release confirmed yet. Sources: cisa.
cisa🔴 Active Exploitation

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog | CISA. Listed in CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2016-0040
generic🟡 PoC Available

Microsoft Windows WMI - Recieve Notification Exploit (Metasploit) - Windows_x86-64 local Exploit

https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/44586/
generic

Microsoft Security Bulletin MS16-014 - Important | Microsoft Learn

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-014
generic
http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1034985

Data Freshness Timeline

(refreshed 56× in last 7d / 255× in last 30d)

Each row is a source pipeline that fetched or updated this CVE on that date, with what changed. For example, "NVD update" means NVD published or revised its analysis for this CVE; "MITRE cvelistV5" means we ingested or refreshed it from the CNA feed. Most recent first.

Showing the most recent 100 of 1,084 total refreshes for this CVE.

  1. 2026-10-06 06:38 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-10-06 02:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-10-05 23:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  4. 2026-10-05 19:32 UTCEG score recompute
  5. 2026-10-05 19:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-10-05 17:38 UTCEPSS rescore
  7. 2026-10-05 15:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-10-05 12:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-10-05 08:28 UTCGHSA enrichment
  10. 2026-10-05 04:47 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-10-05 01:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-10-04 21:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-10-04 17:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-10-04 14:01 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-10-04 10:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-10-04 06:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-10-04 02:58 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-10-03 23:17 UTCGHSA enrichment
  19. 2026-10-03 19:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-10-03 15:55 UTCEG score recompute
  21. 2026-10-03 15:55 UTCGHSA enrichment
  22. 2026-10-03 14:21 UTCEPSS rescore
  23. 2026-10-03 12:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-10-03 08:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-10-03 04:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
Show 75 more
  1. 2026-10-03 01:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  2. 2026-10-02 21:29 UTCGHSA enrichment
  3. 2026-10-02 17:48 UTCEG score recompute
  4. 2026-10-02 17:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  5. 2026-10-02 14:07 UTCGHSA enrichment
  6. 2026-10-02 10:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  7. 2026-10-02 06:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  8. 2026-10-02 03:04 UTCGHSA enrichment
  9. 2026-10-01 23:22 UTCEG score recompute
  10. 2026-10-01 23:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  11. 2026-10-01 19:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  12. 2026-10-01 15:56 UTCGHSA enrichment
  13. 2026-10-01 12:15 UTCGHSA enrichment
  14. 2026-10-01 08:34 UTCGHSA enrichment
  15. 2026-10-01 04:53 UTCGHSA enrichment
  16. 2026-10-01 01:10 UTCGHSA enrichment
  17. 2026-09-30 21:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  18. 2026-09-30 17:49 UTCEG score recompute
  19. 2026-09-30 17:49 UTCGHSA enrichment
  20. 2026-09-30 14:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  21. 2026-09-30 14:58 UTCEPSS rescore
  22. 2026-09-30 14:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  23. 2026-09-30 10:27 UTCGHSA enrichment
  24. 2026-09-30 06:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  25. 2026-09-30 03:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  26. 2026-09-29 23:21 UTCGHSA enrichment
  27. 2026-09-29 19:37 UTCGHSA enrichment
  28. 2026-09-29 15:54 UTCEG score recompute
  29. 2026-09-29 15:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  30. 2026-09-29 12:13 UTCGHSA enrichment
  31. 2026-09-29 08:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  32. 2026-09-29 04:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  33. 2026-09-29 01:11 UTCEG score recompute
  34. 2026-09-29 01:11 UTCGHSA enrichment
  35. 2026-09-28 21:30 UTCGHSA enrichment
  36. 2026-09-28 17:48 UTCGHSA enrichment
  37. 2026-09-28 14:06 UTCGHSA enrichment
  38. 2026-09-28 10:25 UTCGHSA enrichment
  39. 2026-09-28 06:45 UTCGHSA enrichment
  40. 2026-09-28 03:03 UTCGHSA enrichment
  41. 2026-09-27 23:22 UTCGHSA enrichment
  42. 2026-09-27 21:51 UTCCISA KEV update
  43. 2026-09-27 19:41 UTCGHSA enrichment
  44. 2026-09-27 16:00 UTCEG score recompute
  45. 2026-09-27 16:00 UTCGHSA enrichment
  46. 2026-09-27 13:40 UTCEPSS rescore
  47. 2026-09-27 12:20 UTCGHSA enrichment
  48. 2026-09-27 08:39 UTCGHSA enrichment
  49. 2026-09-27 04:57 UTCGHSA enrichment
  50. 2026-09-27 01:16 UTCGHSA enrichment
  51. 2026-09-26 21:32 UTCGHSA enrichment
  52. 2026-09-26 17:51 UTCEG score recompute
  53. 2026-09-26 17:51 UTCGHSA enrichment
  54. 2026-09-26 15:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  55. 2026-09-26 15:53 UTCEPSS rescore
  56. 2026-09-26 14:08 UTCGHSA enrichment
  57. 2026-09-26 10:26 UTCGHSA enrichment
  58. 2026-09-26 06:44 UTCGHSA enrichment
  59. 2026-09-26 03:02 UTCEG score recompute
  60. 2026-09-26 03:02 UTCGHSA enrichment
  61. 2026-09-25 23:18 UTCGHSA enrichment
  62. 2026-09-25 19:35 UTCGHSA enrichment
  63. 2026-09-25 19:35 UTCCISA KEV update
  64. 2026-09-25 15:54 UTCGHSA enrichment
  65. 2026-09-25 14:55 UTCCISA KEV update
  66. 2026-09-25 12:14 UTCGHSA enrichment
  67. 2026-09-25 08:33 UTCGHSA enrichment
  68. 2026-09-25 04:52 UTCGHSA enrichment
  69. 2026-09-25 01:12 UTCGHSA enrichment
  70. 2026-09-24 21:31 UTCGHSA enrichment
  71. 2026-09-24 19:31 UTCCISA KEV update
  72. 2026-09-24 17:50 UTCGHSA enrichment
  73. 2026-09-24 14:09 UTCEG score recompute
  74. 2026-09-24 14:09 UTCGHSA enrichment
  75. 2026-09-24 10:28 UTCGHSA enrichment

Publicly available exploits

(4 references)

Working exploit code is in the public domain (1 Metasploit module) (2 GitHub PoCs) (1 Exploit-DB entry). Defenders should treat patch urgency accordingly — public PoCs typically lead to mass-exploitation within 24-72 hours.

  • Exploit-DBEDB-44586✓ verified
    First seen May 4, 2018

    Microsoft Windows WMI - Recieve Notification Exploit (Metasploit)

    Open source ↗
  • Metasploitexploit/windows/local/ms16_014_wmi_recv_notif✓ verified
    First seen Dec 4, 2015

    Windows WMI Receive Notification Exploit

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCde7ec7ed/CVE-2016-0040
    First seen Aug 3, 2017

    CVE-2016-0040 Privilege Escalation Exploit For WMI Receive Notification Vulnerability (x86-64)

    Open source ↗
  • GitHub PoCRootkitsmm-zz/cve-2016-0040
    First seen Feb 26, 2016

    Exploiting CVE-2016-0040 uninitialized pointer

    Open source ↗

Frequently asked(6)

What is CVE-2016-0040?
CVE-2016-0040 is a critical vulnerability published on February 10, 2016. The kernel in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 SP1 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, aka "Windows Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability."
When was CVE-2016-0040 disclosed?
CVE-2016-0040 was first published on February 10, 2016, with the most recent update on June 17, 2026. EchelonGraph re-ingests CVE updates from NVD on a 2-hour cycle, so this page reflects the latest published state.
Is CVE-2016-0040 actively exploited?
Yes. CISA added CVE-2016-0040 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on March 28, 2022, affecting Microsoft Windows. KEV listing indicates confirmed exploitation in the wild; this CVE warrants immediate attention. A fix is referenced, but no release containing it is confirmed. Check the referenced fix and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains it and apply that; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2016-0040?
CVE-2016-0040 has a CVSS v3 base score of 7.8 (NVD). EchelonGraph synthesises NVD + CISA KEV + FIRST EPSS + GHSA into a combined EG score of 9.0 (CRITICAL).
Which products are affected by CVE-2016-0040?
CVE-2016-0040 affects Microsoft Windows.
How do I remediate CVE-2016-0040?
A fix for CVE-2016-0040 is referenced (a reference tagged "Patch", often a source commit), but EchelonGraph has no release containing it on record. Check that reference and the vendor's advisory for a release that contains the fix and update to it; until then, restrict network exposure of the affected system or apply the vendor's mitigation.

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