What is CVE-2016-7278?

CVE-2016-7278 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, classified under Information Disclosure. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2016-12-20.

How severe is CVE-2016-7278?

Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.

Information disclosure in Microsoft Internet Explorer

CVE-2016-7278

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 through 11 allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information from process memory via a crafted web site, aka "Windows Hyperlink Object Library Information Disclosure Vulnerability."

Vulnerability class: Information Disclosure

Published 2016-12-20 · last modified 2026-06-17.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 5.3 (Medium). Vector: CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N.

EPSS exploit prediction

EPSS: 0.147 (96.6th percentile), scored 2026-10-02.

Moderate probability of exploitation in the next 30 days — watch for active exploitation reports. 97th percentile — 96.6% of CVEs in the catalogue have a lower EPSS than this one. How to read EPSS.

EPSS over last 30 days · oldest: 0.147 · newest: 0.147 · change: 0.000

Affected products

Microsoft Internet Explorer — versions 9, 10, 11

Weakness classification (CWE)

CWE-200 — Information Disclosure

References

docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2016/ms16-144 (vendor-advisory)
www.securityfocus.com/bid/94716 (vdb-entry)
www.securitytracker.com/id/1037448 (vdb-entry)

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2016-7278?: CVE-2016-7278 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer, classified under Information Disclosure. CVSS score: 5.3/10. Published 2016-12-20.
How severe is CVE-2016-7278?: Medium severity. CVSS v3 base score is 5.3 out of 10.