Evidence used
- CISA confirms exploitation in the wild.
- A structured source references public exploit or proof-of-concept material.
- EPSS is 39.32% for the current model date.
BlackTreeCVE IntelligenceFull vulnerability report · 2013
CVE-2013-3660High confidence
Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
Microsoft · Win32k
7.8HighCVSS 3.1
Patch now
Patch availableCISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-18 as the remediation due date.
R
Open reassessment dashboard →Operational reassessment
Published severity in operational context
Published severityHigh→Operational priority:Critical, raised one band.upgradedsince 28 Mar 2022
Compensating controls
- Validate the affected product branch and deploy the verified fixed release.
- Restrict local access and enforce least privilege on affected hosts.
- Increase monitoring for the attack path and post-exploitation behaviour described in the report.
Verification
- Confirm that the asset runs Microsoft Win32k and falls inside the recorded affected range.
- Verify the installed build against the product-specific fixed version after deployment.
- Validate exposure, authentication requirements and compensating controls in the actual environment.
- Reopen this reassessment when CVSS, KEV, EPSS, exploit evidence or remediation changes.
CISA confirms exploitation in the wild and lists 2022-04-18 as the remediation due date.
Patch available01
What, why and how
The EPATHOBJ::pprFlattenRec function in win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft does not properly initialize a pointer for the next object in a certain list, which allows local users to gain privileges.
What
The EPATHOBJ::pprFlattenRec function in win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft does not properly initialize a pointer for the next object in a certain list, which allows local users to gain privileges.
Why
The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
What
The EPATHOBJ::pprFlattenRec function in win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft does not properly initialize a pointer for the next object in a certain list, which allows local users to gain privileges.
Why
The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.
How
An attacker operating through local access may attempt exploitation without authentication after a user interaction. If successful, the issue may cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor.
02
Exploit reality and attack path
CVSS severity, EPSS forecast probability, public exploit material and CISA-confirmed exploitation are separate signals.
Observed exploitation Confirmed in the wild
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.CISA added this CVE to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on 2022-03-28.
Public PoC / exploit material Reference recorded
?
Confirmed exploitation and public exploit material are separate signals. Attacks can occur without public proof-of-concept or exploit code.A structured CVE source labels at least one public reference as exploit material. BlackTree has not independently validated that it is safe, reliable or weaponised.
- Likely attack path
- local access → Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer → cause the confidentiality, integrity or availability impact described by the vendor
- Attack surface
- Local
- Privileges required
- None: unauthenticated exploitation is possible
- User interaction
- Required interaction required
- Attack complexity
- Low: no specialised conditions are recorded
- Security boundary
- Unchanged: impact remains within the vulnerable component's security authority
- Weakness
?
CWE means Common Weakness Enumeration: a standard category for the underlying weakness. - CWE-119 ↗
CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer. The product performs operations on a memory buffer, but it reads from or writes to a memory location outside the buffer's intended boundary. This may result in read or write operations on unexpected memory locations that could be linked to other variables, data structures, or internal program data.
- CVSS vector
?
CVSS means Common Vulnerability Scoring System. The vector records the metric values used to calculate technical severity. CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:HCommon Vulnerability Scoring System 3.1: the compact vector below is decoded into plain language.
AVLocalAttack vector: The attacker needs local access to the vulnerable system.ACLowAttack complexity: No specialised conditions are required beyond attacker-controlled input.PRNonePrivileges required: The attacker does not need an account or existing privileges.UIRequiredUser interaction: Another user must perform an action for exploitation to succeed.SUnchangedScope: The security impact remains within the vulnerable component's authority.CHighConfidentiality impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.IHighIntegrity impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.AHighAvailability impact: A successful attack can cause a major loss.- Post-exploitation / living off the land
- The issue can support a local privilege or sandbox boundary transition; normal system utilities may then be available in the gained context.
03
Patch and workaround
Operational remediation based on structured source evidence.
- Status
?
Patch availability is based on structured fixed-version fields and authoritative update references. If no fix is verified, check the vendor advisory before making a change. - Patch available
- Affected
- n/a
- Action
- Review the linked authoritative reference and apply the recorded fixed release appropriate to the affected product branch.
- Workaround
- No verified workaround is recorded. Limit untrusted access and use least privilege until authoritative guidance is available.
04
Evidence and provenance
Published 24 May 2013 · Last source change 22 Oct 2025, 00:05 UTC · CWE-119 · Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer
CVE recordCVE.org · 5.1
CVSS sourceNIST NVD
EPSS source FIRST · tracked since 2026-09-13
?
The date BlackTree first stored a score for this CVE from the daily FIRST EPSS feed.European sourceENISA EUVD · EUVD-2013-3593
Product sourceCISA KEV
Remediation sourceCVE/CNA references
CWE sourceCISA ADP
NVD statusNVD enriched
Core structured fields are present and their contributing authorities are shown above.
Material change intelligence
View recent updates ↗What changed after publication
- ENISA known-exploited stateENISA EUVD now records this CVE in its known-exploited dataset.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not listed in ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset
- After
- listed in ENISA EUVD known-exploited dataset (EUVD-2013-3593)
- ENISA EUVD mappingEUVD-2013-3593 was added to the official ENISA EUVD mapping for this CVE.ENISA EUVD ↗
- Before
- not recorded
- After
- {"euvdId":"EUVD-2013-3593"}
- Affected versionsThe structured affected or fixed version information changed.CISA KEV ↗
- Before
- n/a: n/a · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
- After
- n/a · Fixed: An authoritative update reference is available, but the fixed version is not recorded in the structured CVE fields. Check the linked vendor advisory for the applicable release.
- Vendor guidanceAuthoritative vendor guidance changed: added vendor advisory: secunia.com/53435.docs.microsoft.com ↗
- Before
- patch: docs.microsoft.com/ms13-053 · remediation: docs.microsoft.com/ms13-053
- After
- patch: docs.microsoft.com/ms13-053 · remediation: docs.microsoft.com/ms13-053 · vendor advisory: secunia.com/53435
- CVSS scoreCVSS scoring authority changed from CISA ADP to NIST NVD; the displayed base score remained 7.8.NIST NVD ↗
- Before
- 7.8 (CVSS 3.1 · CISA ADP · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
- After
- 7.8 (CVSS 3.1 · NIST NVD · CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)
- Catalogue recordCVE added to the BlackTree catalogue.CNA ↗
CVE published
Added to CISA KEV
Fixed release or patch reference recorded
Technical terms and abbreviations used in this report
- CVE
- Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures: the public identifier for one disclosed vulnerability.
- CVSS
- Common Vulnerability Scoring System: a technical severity framework; it is not patching priority by itself.
- EPSS
- Exploit Prediction Scoring System: FIRST's estimate of the probability that exploitation activity will be observed in the next 30 days; it is a forecast, not confirmation.
- CWE
- Common Weakness Enumeration: the standard category describing the underlying software or hardware weakness.
- CNA
- CVE Numbering Authority: an organisation authorised to assign and publish CVE records.
- CISA ADP
- Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Authorized Data Publisher: structured enrichment added to a CVE record.
- NVD
- National Vulnerability Database: NIST's enrichment service for CVE records.
- CERT / CSIRT
- A computer security incident response team that publishes warnings or coordinates incident response.
- PoC
- Proof of concept: public material that demonstrates or helps reproduce exploitation.
- CSAF
- Common Security Advisory Framework: a machine-readable format for security advisories.
- LoTL
- Living off the land: abuse of legitimate tools or system functions during an attack.