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Actively exploited vulnerability

Microsoft Internet Explorer: information disclosure flaw under attack

CVE-2016-3298 · Microsoft Internet Explorer Messaging API Information Disclosure Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it6.5 medium

What is affected

Microsoft Internet Explorer is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

An information disclosure vulnerability exists when the Microsoft Internet Messaging API improperly handles objects in memory. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could allow the attacker to test for the presence of files on disk.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a information disclosure flaw. It lets an attacker read data they are not supposed to see, such as memory contents, credentials or internal files. It is often the first step of a larger attack.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
Yes, the victim must open or click something

What to do

  1. Update Microsoft Internet Explorer now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 24, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 14, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 33% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 98% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 6.5 out of 10 (medium), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 through 11 and the Internet Messaging API in Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, and Windows 7 SP1 allow remote attackers to determine the existence of arbitrary files via a crafted web site, aka "Internet Explorer Information Disclosure Vulnerability."

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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