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Vulnerabilities

Vulnerability · CVE-2016-0185

Microsoft Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

Published May 10, 2016 · catalog updated Jun 16, 2026 · Microsoft Windows

Patch now

CVE-2016-0185 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due May 3, 2022. Confirm Microsoft Windows against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Severity
High7.8
Known exploitation
CISA KEV and VulnCheck KEV
EPSS
69.85%
Remediation
Remediation guidance
Affected products
cpe microsoft/windows 7 · cpe microsoft/windows 8.1 · cpe microsoft/windows vista · vendor Microsoft Windows

Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

Are you affected?

Enter the version you run. The result uses only the ranges stored on this record.

The check returns affected, not affected, or incomplete. It does not guess a version that is missing from the record.

  • cpe microsoft/windows 7version unspecified
  • cpe microsoft/windows 8.1version unspecified
  • cpe microsoft/windows vistaversion unspecified
  • vendor Microsoft Windowsversion unspecified

How to fix CVE-2016-0185

What to do

Three questions, each answered from this record only. Confirm the vendor advisory before you patch.

Should you patch?

CVE-2016-0185 is in the CISA known-exploited catalog, due May 3, 2022. Confirm Microsoft Windows against the vendor advisory and apply that fix. The CVSS score does not change the priority.

Which versions are affected?

Affected version ranges are not on this record. Apply updates per vendor instructions.

What should an analyst verify?

CWE-20: Improper Input Validation. EPSS 69.85%. The CISA KEV listing is the exploitation evidence. A public exploit reference is linked in Sources. That is not the same as confirmed exploitation. Use the source links for the original advisory.

Technology hubs

Windows security

Code

The project this record applies to. Exploit listings stay in References.

No public source repository is identified for this product.

Timeline

Detection, updates, and resolution for this record.

  1. May 10, 2016 · Catalog

    Detected

    Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

  2. Nov 3, 2021 · CISA KEV

    Known exploited

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  3. May 3, 2022 · CISA KEV

    Remediation due

    Apply updates per vendor instructions.

  4. Jun 16, 2026 · Catalog

    Updated

    Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

Sources

  • CISA KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2016-0185

    Microsoft Windows Media Center contains a remote code execution vulnerability when Windows Media Center opens a specially crafted Media Center link (.mcl) file that references malicious code.

    cisa.gov
  • CVE.orgVulnerability recordCVE-2016-0185

    Official CVE identifier

    cve.org
  • FIRST EPSSExploitation probabilityCVE-2016-0185

    30-day exploitation probability 69.8%

    first.org
  • Exploit DatabasePublic exploit reference39805

    Public archive entry. The exploit body is not stored here.

    exploit-db.com
  • NIST NVDVulnerability recordCVE-2016-0185

    Media Center in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows 7 SP1, and Windows 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted Media Center link (aka .mcl) file, aka "Windows Media Center Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."

    nvd.nist.gov
  • VulnCheck KEVConfirmed exploitationCVE-2016-0185

    Microsoft Windows Media Center contains a remote code execution vulnerability when Windows Media Center opens a specially crafted Media Center link (.mcl) file that references malicious code.

    vulncheck.com

References

Freshness

Last verified in this catalog Oct 17, 2026. Significant claims (KEV, EPSS, CVSS, affected ranges) come from the source rows above — open the original publisher for the authoritative advisory.