CVE-2016-0185 — Microsoft Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

01What is this vulnerability?

Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
n	a / n/a	n/a

03Active exploitation status

Yes — actively exploited. Added to the CISA KEV catalog on 2021-11-03. Ransomware use: Unknown.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Open the Sigma generator with a pre-filled prompt for this CVE to draft a starting detection in your stack of choice:

Open in Sigma generator →

07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2016-05-11T01:00:00.000Z
• Last modified: 2025-10-21T23:55:52.588Z
• Added to CISA KEV: 2021-11-03
• BOD 22-01 due: 2022-05-03

09References

• docs.microsoft.com — https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-05…
• www.securityfocus.com — http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/90023
• www.exploit-db.com — https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/39805/
• www.securitytracker.com — http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1035832
• www.zerodayinitiative.com — http://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-16-277