CVE-2013-2551

Exp

Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 10 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted web site that triggers access to a deleted object, as demonstrated by VUPEN during a Pwn2Own competition at CanSecWest 2013, aka "Internet Explorer Use After Free Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-1308 and CVE-2013-1309.

Published: 2013-03-11 Last update: 2026-06-16 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2013-2551 is rated Critical Active Threat (90/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 73.92%, 99th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-28) affecting Microsoft / Internet Explorer. a weakness (CWE-416) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. The CISA remediation deadline has passed—treat as an emergency patch priority.

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

CISA KEV Record for CVE-2013-2551

Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer Use-After-Free Vulnerability · CISA KEV detail

Exploit added: 2022-03-28

Action due: 2022-04-18

Required action: Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Public exploit references (Exploit-DB) for CVE-2013-2551

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
26175 exploit_db edb 2013-06-13 Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2013-2551

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 92.45% 73.92% -18.53%
2 2026-05-24 92.29% 92.45% +0.16%
3 2026-05-22 — 92.29% —

Full EPSS history (26 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2013-2551

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 [email protected]
8.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:N)
Could be attacked over the internet or any normal routed network—not just someone sitting at the machine.
Attack complexity (AC:L)
Once they can reach the bug, pulling it off is straightforward—no weird race conditions or rare setup.
Privileges required (PR:N)
No account or special rights needed—anonymous or random user is enough.
User interaction (UI:R)
A real person has to do something—click, install, enable—otherwise it doesn’t land.
Scope (S:U)
Damage stays in the same “trust bubble” as the broken component—no big spill into unrelated systems.
Confidentiality (C:H)
Serious risk that confidential data gets exposed in a big way.
Integrity (I:H)
They could widely tamper with or forge data—trust in the data is badly hurt.
Availability (A:H)
Could take the service down hard or make it unusable for people who depend on it.
 2.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
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-2013-2551

NVD evaluator notes for CVE-2013-2551

Comment: CWE 416 User-after-free http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/416.html

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2013-2551

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft internet_explorer 6 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:6:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 7 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:7:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 8 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:8:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 9 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:9:-:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft internet_explorer 10 cpe:2.3:a:microsoft:internet_explorer:10:*:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2013-2551

cvelogic Threat Intelligence