What is CVE-2016-7085?

CVE-2016-7085 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Untrusted Search Path. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2016-12-29.

How severe is CVE-2016-7085?

High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.

Vulnerability in Microsoft Windows

CVE-2016-7085

Untrusted search path vulnerability in the installer in VMware Workstation Pro 12.x before 12.5.0 and VMware Workstation Player 12.x before 12.5.0 on Windows allows local users to gain privileges via a Trojan horse DLL in an unspecified directory.

Published 2016-12-29 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 7.8 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.004 (34.7th percentile), scored 2026-10-20.

Very low probability of exploitation in the next 30 days; routine patching cadence is appropriate. 35th percentile — 34.7% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.004 · newest: 0.004 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Microsoft Windows
VMware Workstation Player — versions 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0
VMware Workstation Pro — versions 12.0.0, 12.0.1, 12.1.0

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-426 — Untrusted Search Path

References

www.vmware.com/security/advisories/VMSA-2016-0014.html (Vendor Advisory)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1036805 (vdb-entry)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/92940 (VDB Entry, Third Party Advisory, vdb-entry)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-7085?: CVE-2016-7085 is a high-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Windows, classified under Untrusted Search Path. CVSS score: 7.8/10. Published 2016-12-29.
How severe is CVE-2016-7085?: High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.8 out of 10.