CVE-2013-3660

Exp

The EPATHOBJ::pprFlattenRec function in win32k.sys in the kernel-mode drivers in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, and Windows Server 2012 does not properly initialize a pointer for the next object in a certain list, which allows local users to obtain write access to the PATHRECORD chain, and consequently gain privileges, by triggering excessive consumption of paged memory and then making many FlattenPath function calls, aka "Win32k Read AV Vulnerability."

Published: 2013-05-24 Last update: 2026-04-22 Assigner: [email protected] Source: [email protected]
NVD Status：Analyzed，CVE State: published
View at NVD, CVE.org, EUVD

CVE-2013-3660 is rated Critical Active Threat (92.2/100): CVSS High severity, with high exploitation likelihood (EPSS 70.63%, 99th percentile). CISA KEV confirms active exploitation (added 2022-03-28) affecting Microsoft / Win32k. a weakness (CWE-119) Unauthenticated remote administrative access may be possible. EPSS rose +1.44% over the last day, indicating growing attacker interest. 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-2013-3660

Name: Microsoft Win32k Privilege Escalation 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-2013-3660

EDB-ID Source Kind Published Link
26554 exploit_db edb 2013-07-02 Exploit-DB ↗
25912 exploit_db edb 2013-06-03 Exploit-DB ↗
25611 exploit_db edb 2013-05-21 Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗
— nvd_ref exploit_tag Exploit-DB ↗

Exploit prediction scoring system (EPSS) score for CVE-2013-3660

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 2026-04-23 69.19% 70.63% +1.44%
2 2025-12-28 73.02% 69.19% -3.83%
3 2025-12-27 — 73.02% —

Full EPSS history (18 records total)

Common vulnerability scoring system (CVSS) metrics for CVE-2013-3660

CVSS metrics for this CVE.

Base score Version Severity Vector Exploitability Impact Score source
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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.
 1.8 5.9 [email protected]
7.8 3.1 HIGH
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H Click to expand
Attack vector (AV:L)
They already need access on the box, or another person has to do something wrong; it’s not a remote drive-by.
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.
 1.8 5.9 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
6.9 2.0 MEDIUM
AV:L/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C Click to expand
Access vector (AV:L)
Requires local access to the target system.
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.
 3.4 10.0 [email protected]

Weakness enumeration for CVE-2013-3660

Affected software / configurations for CVE-2013-3660

Vendor Product Version Raw CPE
microsoft windows_7 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_7:-:sp1:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_8 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_8:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_rt — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_rt:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
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:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_server_2008 r2 cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2008:r2:sp1:*:*:*:*:x64:*
microsoft windows_server_2012 — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_server_2012:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_vista — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_vista:-:sp2:*:*:*:*:*:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp2:*:*:professional:*:x64:*
microsoft windows_xp — cpe:2.3:o:microsoft:windows_xp:-:sp3:*:*:*:*:*:*

References for CVE-2013-3660

URL Tags
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2013-05/0090.html Broken Link
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2013-05/0094.html Broken Link
http://archives.neohapsis.com/archives/fulldisclosure/2013-06/0006.html Broken Link
http://secunia.com/advisories/53435 Broken Link Vendor Advisory
http://twitter.com/taviso/statuses/309157606247768064 Exploit
http://twitter.com/taviso/statuses/335557286657400832 Not Applicable
http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9239477 Broken Link
http://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/25611/ Exploit Third Party Advisory VDB Entry
http://www.osvdb.org/93539 Broken Link
http://www.reddit.com/r/netsec/comments/1eqh66/0day_windows_kernel_epathobj_vulnerability/ Exploit Issue Tracking
http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/23/4358400/google-engineer-bashes-microsoft-discloses-windows-flaw Press/Media Coverage
http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-190A Third Party Advisory US Government Resource
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/security-updates/securitybulletins/2013/ms13-053 Patch Vendor Advisory
https://oval.cisecurity.org/repository/search/definition/oval%3Aorg.mitre.oval%3Adef%3A17360 Broken Link
https://www.cisa.gov/known-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2013-3660 US Government Resource
cvelogic Threat Intelligence