CVE-2010-3970

Exp

Stack-based buffer overflow in the CreateSizedDIBSECTION function in shimgvw.dll in the Windows Shell graphics processor (aka graphics rendering engine) in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Server 2003 SP2, Vista SP1 and SP2, and Server 2008 Gold and SP2 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted .MIC or unspecified Office document containing a thumbnail bitmap with a negative biClrUsed value, as reported by Moti and Xu Hao, aka "Windows Shell Graphics Processing Overrun Vulnerability."

Published: 2010-12-22 Last update: 2026-04-29 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]

Conclusion & alert: CVE-2010-3970 is rated High Exploit Risk (81.9/100): CVSS Critical severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 67.69%, 99th percentile). Core evidence: 3 public exploit reference(s) are indexed (Exploit-DB). Mandatory action: Public exploits are available—assess exposure, apply mitigations, and prioritize patching.

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

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2010-3970

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
16660 exploit_db edb 2011-02-08 Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2010-3970

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 2026-06-15 81.21% 67.69% -13.52%
2 2025-12-28 82.84% 81.21% -1.63%
3 2025-12-27 82.84%

Full EPSS history (20 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2010-3970

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
9.3 2.0 HIGH
AV:N/AC:M/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:M)
Exploitation needs some favorable conditions, but not exceptional ones.
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.
8.6 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2010-3970

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2010-3970

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_server_2003 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2003:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x32:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:*:x64:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:sp2:x32:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:*:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:-:sp2:itanium:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_vista cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_vista cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:*:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_xp cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:*:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_xp cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:x64:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2010-3970

URL Tags
http://blogs.technet.com/b/srd/archive/2011/01/07/assessing-the-risk-of-public-issues-currently-being-tracked-by-the-msrc.aspx
http://secunia.com/advisories/42779 Vendor Advisory
http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/106516 US Government Resource
http://www.metasploit.com/redmine/projects/framework/repository/revisions/11466/entry/modules/exploits/windows/fileformat/ms11_xxx_createsizeddibsection.rb Exploit
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/2490606.mspx Vendor Advisory
http://www.powerofcommunity.net/speaker.html
http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/45662 Exploit
http://www.securitytracker.com/id?1024932
http://www.vupen.com/english/advisories/2011/0018 Vendor Advisory
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2011/ms11-006
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A11671
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