Threats / Microsoft / CVE-2016-0189
CVE-2016-0189
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-06-22
Microsoft Internet Explorer vulnerability
Memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft JScript and VBScript engines used by Internet Explorer allows remote code execution through crafted websites.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
A remote attacker can execute arbitrary code or cause denial of service by hosting a malicious website that exploits memory corruption in the scripting engines. The high EPSS score and confirmed wild exploitation indicate active abuse.
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreExploit available
Public proof-of-concept exploit code is cataloged for this vulnerability.We link the existence of the exploit; we do not host or redistribute payloads.
Reported exploitation
16 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 2022-03-28).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.93165 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
Affected: Microsoft, Internet Explorer. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.
Weakness (CWE)
Mapped to CWE-119 Memory Buffer Bounds Error — weakness family: Memory safety.CWE assignment from the public NVD record; the weakness class drives how the flaw is exploited.
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 containing specially formatted script code that triggers a memory corruption flaw in the JScript or VBScript engine.
Business
An employee visits the attacker's website, and their browser executes arbitrary code with user privileges, potentially compromising sensitive data or systems.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I host the exploit on a compromised or attacker-controlled domain and distribute the link via phishing or watering hole attacks.
Business
Multiple users across the organization become infected, enabling lateral movement and establishing persistent access to the network.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I leverage the code execution to install malware, steal credentials, or pivot to internal systems.
Business
The organization faces data theft, operational disruption, and potential regulatory penalties from the security breach.
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.
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