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Sharepoint FoundationApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2013-0081

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-09-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
High EPSS Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server 2003 SP3 and SharePoint Server 2007 SP3, 2010 SP1 and SP2, and 2013 do not properly process unassigned workflows, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (W3WP process hang) via a crafted URL, aka "SharePoint Denial of Service Vulnerability."

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · moderate confidence

This is a denial of service vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint where the platform fails to properly process unassigned workflows. Attackers can exploit this by sending specially crafted URLs to cause the W3WP (Internet Information Services worker process) to hang, making SharePoint services unavailable.

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update for this vulnerability. If patches are unavailable for end-of-life versions, consider network-level filtering or Web Application Firewall rules to block malicious requests targeting workflow endpoints.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Sharepoint FoundationApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
Sharepoint Portal ServerApplication
Affected:= 2003
Sharepoint ServerApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013
Sharepoint ServicesApplication
Affected:= 2.0= 3.0

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify SharePoint version
    Run PowerShell command 'Get-SPProduct -Local' or check SharePoint Central Administration > System Settings > Manage farm configuration > Farm Administration: Look for the version number under the SharePoint Foundation entry
    Affected if The installed version matches any of: SharePoint Services 2.0, SharePoint Services 3.0, SharePoint Portal Server 2003, SharePoint Server 2007, SharePoint Server 2010, SharePoint Foundation 2010, SharePoint Server 2013, or SharePoint Foundation 2013
  2. Verify workflow service is running
    In Central Administration > System Settings > Manage services on server, confirm that 'Workflow Service Backend' is started. Alternatively, in PowerShell run 'Get-SPWorkflowService' and check the status
    Affected if The workflow service is provisioned and running on the server
  3. Check if unassigned workflows are accessible
    Review the SharePoint web application configuration in Central Administration > Application Management > Manage web applications > General Settings. Verify whether workflow features are enabled for the web applications
    Affected if Workflow features are enabled and accessible to unauthenticated or low-privilege users via URL access
  4. Confirm external access to workflow endpoints
    From a browser or curl, attempt to access a known workflow endpoint such as /_layouts/wrkstat.aspx or /_vti_bin/Workflow.asmx on the SharePoint site. Check if HTTP requests are accepted without authentication blocks
    Affected if The workflow endpoints respond to HTTP requests without requiring authentication or being blocked by network-level filters

You are affected if your SharePoint installation version matches any of the affected versions (2003, 2007, 2010, 2013 for Server; 2.0, 3.0 for Services; 2010, 2013 for Foundation) AND the workflow service is enabled and accessible over the network.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate Microsoft security update for this vulnerability. If patches are unavailable for end-of-life versions, consider network-level filtering or Web Application Firewall rules to block malicious requests targeting workflow endpoints.

Fix this in Sharepoint Foundation Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation3.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,600
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-0081 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
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