Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2016-0162
CVE-2016-0162
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability
Internet Explorer information disclosure vulnerability in JavaScript handling allows attackers to detect specific files on a user's computer.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
An attacker can exploit improper JavaScript handling in Internet Explorer to enumerate files on a victim's system, potentially revealing sensitive file paths and system configuration details that inform further attacks.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-05-244EPSS 0.22088 (verify live)5CVSS 4.3 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Impact: partial3
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
4 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-05-24).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.22088 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 4.3 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N) · Affected: Microsoft, Internet Explorer. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-200 Information Exposure — weakness family: Authorization / access control.CWE assignment from the public NVD record (may be stale); the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: no · Technical Impact: partialCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 2233 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious webpage with JavaScript that probes for the existence of specific files on the target system.
Business
User browsing habits and file system structure become visible to external parties, increasing reconnaissance surface.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I detect which security software, applications, or configuration files exist on the target machine based on file presence.
Business
Attackers gain intelligence to tailor subsequent attacks, reducing their operational cost and increasing success rates.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I use this information to identify vulnerable or outdated software installations that I can exploit in follow-up attacks.
Business
System compromise risk escalates as attackers combine file detection with known exploits for identified software.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05