What is CVE-2016-0189?
The Microsoft (1) JScript 5.8 and (2) VBScript 5.7 and 5.8 engines, as used in Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and other products, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0187.
The record classifies CVE-2016-0189 under weakness class CWE-787. Its CVSS v3 base vector states that the flaw is reachable remotely over the network, needs no prior authentication, needs a user to take an action first, and has high impact on confidentiality, integrity, availability. 17 affected-product entries are recorded, across 1 vendor, listed below. The identifier was first published 3832 days ago.
Severity and exploitation probability
- CVSS v3.1 base score
- 7.5 — HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H - EPSS (FIRST)
- 94.0% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, higher than 99.8% of all scored CVEs
- CISA KEV
- Listed since 2022-03-28, federal remediation deadline 2022-04-18 — used in known ransomware campaigns
- Threadlinqs priority
- 10/10 — CISA lists it as used in ransomware, which Threadlinqs scores at the maximum
- Published
- 2016-05-11, last modified 2025-10-21
Is CVE-2016-0189 being exploited?
CISA added CVE-2016-0189 to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2022-03-28, which means the agency holds evidence of exploitation in the wild; US federal civilian agencies had to remediate it by 2022-04-18 under BOD 22-01. CISA flags the vulnerability as one used in known ransomware campaigns. Weaponised exploit code for CVE-2016-0189 is publicly available. 3 public proof-of-concept repositories are tracked for this identifier. It currently carries a trending score of 48 in the Threadlinqs vulnerability feed.
- theori-io/cve-2016-0189 (github)
- deamwork/MS16-051-poc (github)
- trickest/cve (trickest)
Affected products and versions
- Microsoft: Jscript 5.8, Vbscript 5.7, Vbscript 5.8, Windows Server 2008 r2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Internet Explorer 9, Internet Explorer 10, Windows Server 2012, Internet Explorer 11, Windows 10 1507, Windows 10 1511, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt 8.1, Windows Server 2012 r2
Showing 16 of 17 recorded product entries.
How to fix CVE-2016-0189
The record marks a vendor fix as available for CVE-2016-0189. Patch reference: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-051. Because CVE-2016-0189 is KEV-listed, US federal civilian agencies were required to apply the vendor fix, or stop using the product, by 2022-04-18. Apply the vendor fix referenced above to every affected product listed in this record, then confirm the running version against the vendor advisory.
Threat activity tracking CVE-2016-0189
1 tracked threat in the Threadlinqs corpus references CVE-2016-0189, either in the campaign’s CVE list or as an indicator on the campaign record.
- Radio Exploit Kit drive-by download campaign exploiting CVE-2016-0189 to deliver AZORult — MEDIUM · 2026-11-07
Sources
Enriched from CVE.org, NVD, FIRST EPSS, CISA KEV, GitHub Security Advisories, public proof-of-concept repositories. Last verified by Threadlinqs on . This product uses the NVD API but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD.