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AccessApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3155

HIGH · 9.3 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 →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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 Access 2007 SP3, 2010 SP1 and SP2, and 2013 in Microsoft Office allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via a crafted Access file, aka "Access Memory Corruption Vulnerability," a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-3157.

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 · high confidence

This is a memory corruption vulnerability in Microsoft Access that can be triggered by opening a specially crafted Access database file (.accdb or .mdb). The vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code with the privileges of the current user or cause a denial of service through memory corruption.

MitigationApply the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS13-074) to vulnerable Access versions. Users should not open Access files from untrusted or unknown sources until patches are applied.

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
AccessApplication
Affected:= 2007= 2010= 2013

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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. Verify Microsoft Access is installed
    Open Control Panel > Programs and Features, or use PowerShell command: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*Access*'}
    Affected if Microsoft Access appears in the installed programs list
  2. Identify installed Access version
    Open Access application, go to File > Account > About Access, or right-click the Access executable in its installation folder and view Properties > Details to find the Version number
    Affected if The version shown is 2007, 2010, or 2013 (exact versions listed in affected products)
  3. Confirm exact build number for version 2007
    If Access 2007 is detected, run: msaccess.exe /exui (or check the file version of msaccess.exe in the Office12 folder typically found in Program Files or Program Files (x86))
    Affected if Build number matches Access 2007 without MS13-074 security update applied
  4. Confirm exact build number for version 2010
    If Access 2010 is detected, check the file version of msaccess.exe in the Office14 folder
    Affected if Build number matches Access 2010 without MS13-074 security update applied
  5. Confirm exact build number for version 2013
    If Access 2013 is detected, check the file version of msaccess.exe in the Office15 folder
    Affected if Build number matches Access 2013 without MS13-074 security update applied

If Microsoft Access versions 2007, 2010, or 2013 are installed without the MS13-074 security update, the environment is vulnerable to CVE-2013-3155 when opening specially crafted .accdb or .mdb files.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the appropriate Microsoft security update (MS13-074) to vulnerable Access versions. Users should not open Access files from untrusted or unknown sources until patches are applied.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Upgrade to Microsoft Access 2016 or Microsoft 365 for continued security support

  1. Check for and apply the relevant Microsoft security update for this CVE. Navigate to the Microsoft Security Response Center (msrc.microsoft.com) and search for CVE-2013-3155 to obtain the specific KB article number for your Access version.
  2. Open Microsoft Access and go to File > Account > Update Options > Update Now to check for pending Office updates.
  3. Alternatively, manually download the security update from the Microsoft Update Catalog (catalog.update.microsoft.com) using the KB number obtained from step 1.
  4. For Access 2007 SP3: Ensure you have the December 2013 security update installed or later.
  5. For Access 2010 SP1/SP2: Ensure you have the December 2013 security update installed or later.
  6. For Access 2013: Ensure you have the December 2013 security update installed or later.
  7. After applying the update, verify the installation was successful via Windows Update history.
  8. Consider upgrading to a newer Microsoft Access version (2016 or Microsoft 365) if available, as older versions may have limited security support.
Caveat Upgrading to newer Access versions may require file format conversion; legacy VBA code may need updates

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Access Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,980
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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-2013-3155 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data