CVE-2016-0189

Exp

The Microsoft (1) JScript 5.8 and (2) VBScript 5.7 and 5.8 engines, as used in Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and other products, allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted web site, aka "Scripting Engine Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2016-0187.

Published: 2016-05-11 Last update: 2026-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2016-0189 is rated Critical Active Threat (89.6/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 90.80%, 100th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-28) affecting Microsoft / Internet Explorer. a weakness (CWE-787) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

Risk is dynamic; we continuously reassess and refresh what is shown on this page as upstream context changes.

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2016-0189

Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-28

Action due: 2022-04-18

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2016-0189

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
40118 exploit_db edb 2016-06-22 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2016-0189

EPSS lead: Daily EPSS estimates relative likelihood of exploitation; percentile ranks this CVE among scored vulnerabilities (higher = more severe relative rank).

# Date Old EPSS score New EPSS score Delta (New - Old)
1 2026-05-21 91.06% 90.80% -0.26%
2 2026-05-12 90.78% 91.06% +0.28%
3 2026-04-18 — 90.78% —

Full EPSS history (51 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2016-0189

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.6 5.9 [email protected]
7.5 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:H)
Even with access, the exploit needs extra luck, timing, or a fussy environment to actually work.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 1.6 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
7.6 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:N)
Can be exploited remotely over network reachability.
Access complexity (AC:H)
Exploitation requires uncommon or highly specific conditions.
Authentication (AU:N)
No authentication is required.
Confidentiality impact (C:C)
Complete confidentiality impact.
Integrity impact (I:C)
Complete integrity impact.
Availability impact (A:C)
Complete availability impact.
 4.9 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2016-0189

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2016-0189

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft jscript 5.8 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:jscript:5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft vbscript 5.7 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:vbscript:5.7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft vbscript 5.8 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:vbscript:5.8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 9 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:9:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 10 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 11 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:11:-:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2016-0189

cvelogic Threat Intelligence