Privilege escalation in Windows and Windows Server - CVE-2016-7221
Published: November 9, 2016 / Updated: February 3, 2017
Windows
Windows Server
Detailed vulnerability description
A local attacker can obtain elevated privileges.
The vulnerability exists due to an error when loading DDL file in Windows Input Method Editor (IME). A local authenticated user can cause IME to load a specially crafted DLL file and execute arbitrary code on the system with elevated privileges.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability will allow an attacker to gain elevated privileges on vulnerable system.
How to mitigate CVE-2016-7221
Vendor has issued patches to address this vulnerability:
Windows Vista x64 Edition Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 2
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 7 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 7 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows 8.1 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 8.1 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 8.1 for x64-based Systems
Windows 8.1 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1511 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1511 for x64-based Systems
Windows 10 Version 1607 for 32-bit Systems
Windows 10 Version 1607 for x64-based Systems
Windows Server 2016 for x64-based Systems
Windows Server 2008 for 32-bit Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2008 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2008 R2 for x64-based Systems Service Pack 1
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
Windows Server 2016 for x64-based Systems (Server Core installation)