CVE-2016-3238
HIGHEPSS 98th pctlDescription
The Print Spooler service in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, Windows RT 8.1, and Windows 10 Gold and 1511 allows man-in-the-middle attackers to execute arbitrary code by providing a crafted print driver during printer installation, aka "Windows Print Spooler Remote Code Execution Vulnerability."
How to fix
No published remediation has been found for this vulnerability's affected products yet.
Mitigation guidance may be in the linked vendor advisories in the References section below.
TridentStack Control tracks known vulnerabilities across your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet and shows the fix as soon as one is published. See how it works
CVSS v3 Vector
Exploitability
Impact
CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
Exploit Intelligence
Very high risk: more likely to be exploited than 98% of all known CVEs.
References
Related Vulnerabilities
Other CWE-254 vulnerabilities, ordered by exploit likelihood. View all
| CVE | Severity | CVSS | EPSS | Exploited | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2016-0161 | Medium | 6.5 | 69% | - | - |
| CVE-2016-2296 | Critical | 9.4 | 64% | - | - |
| CVE-2015-1793 | Medium | 6.5 | 62% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-2118 | High | 7.5 | 37% | - | Fix |
| CVE-2016-3198 | Medium | 6.5 | 32% | - | - |
| CVE-2015-1158 | High | 10.0 | 30% | - | Fix |
Common questions
How do I fix CVE-2016-3238?
No published fix for CVE-2016-3238 has been found yet. Check the linked vendor advisories for guidance as it becomes available.
Is CVE-2016-3238 being actively exploited?
Not that we know of. CVE-2016-3238 is not in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Its EPSS score of 35.4% is the estimated probability that it will be exploited in the next 30 days. That is higher than 98% of all scored CVEs.
How severe is CVE-2016-3238?
CVE-2016-3238 has a CVSS v3 base score of 8.1, rated high. CVSS rates the technical impact if the vulnerability is exploited, not how likely that is, so weigh it alongside the exploit-prediction score when you decide what to patch first.
Embed a live status badge for CVE-2016-3238
Markdown
[](https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2016-3238)HTML
<a href="https://tridentstack.com/cve/CVE-2016-3238"><img src="https://tridentstack.com/cve/badge/CVE-2016-3238.svg" alt="CVE-2016-3238"></a>Find and fix vulnerabilities across your fleet
TridentStack Control continuously scans your Windows, macOS, and Linux fleet for known vulnerabilities, prioritizes them by severity and active exploitation, and patches them automatically.
This product uses NVD data but is not endorsed or certified by the NVD. EPSS scores courtesy of FIRST.org (https://www.first.org/epss). Source: CISA KEV Catalog. Data as of 2026-05-06.