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Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 18 Apr 2022.
Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3660

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2013-05-24
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
97/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild Public exploit No privileges Patch available

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
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."

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

A use-after-free/initialization flaw in win32k.sys kernel driver where the EPATHOBJ::pprFlattenRec function fails to properly initialize a pointer for the next object in a PATHRECORD list. By exhausting paged memory and issuing numerous FlattenPath calls, a local attacker can trigger a read access violation that enables write access to the PATHRECORD chain, leading to local privilege escalation from low-privilege user to SYSTEM.

MitigationApply Microsoft security patch MS13-053 (or subsequent cumulative updates) which addresses the win32k.sys kernel pointer initialization flaw. This is a kernel-level vulnerability requiring vendor patch deployment; no workarounds effectively mitigate the risk without applying the update.

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
Windows 7Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows 8Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows RtOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2003Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows XpOperating system
Affected:all versions

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 Windows version
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' to determine the installed Windows version
    Affected if The version is Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, RT, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, or Server 2012 - all of which are affected
  2. Check win32k.sys version
    Locate win32k.sys in C:\Windows\System32\ and view its file properties, or run 'powershell (Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\win32k.sys).VersionInfo'
    Affected if The file version is older than the patched version for your Windows release, indicating the update is not applied
  3. Verify security update installation
    Open Control Panel > Programs > View installed updates, or run 'wmic qfe list' to list installed hotfixes. Look for the kernel pool pointer initialization fix (MS13-053)
    Affected if The relevant kernel security update is not installed on the system
  4. Monitor for FlattenPath exploitation
    Use process monitoring (such as Sysmon or ETW) to detect repeated or excessive calls to the FlattenPath GDI function from low-privilege processes, especially after memory exhaustion patterns
    Affected if Unusual high-volume FlattenPath calls are observed from non-system processes combined with paged memory exhaustion patterns

The system is likely affected if it runs any affected Windows version without the corresponding Microsoft security update for this kernel pointer initialization flaw.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Vendor patch docs.microsoft.com →
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security patch MS13-053 (or subsequent cumulative updates) which addresses the win32k.sys kernel pointer initialization flaw. This is a kernel-level vulnerability requiring vendor patch deployment; no workarounds effectively mitigate the risk without applying the update.

Recommended fix High confidence

Microsoft Security Update MS13-053 (KB2850851) for supported Windows versions; for unsupported OS (XP/2003/Vista), upgrade to Windows 7/8.1/10 or Windows Server 2012R2/2016+

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Update MS13-053 (July 2013) which addresses this win32k.sys vulnerability. This update is available through Windows Update or the Microsoft Download Center.
  2. If automatic updates are enabled, verify the system has installed KB2850851 (for Windows XP/Server 2003), KB2850851 (for Vista/Server 2008), or KB2850851 (for Windows 7/8/Server 2012) as appropriate for your Windows version.
  3. Restart the system after applying the security update.
  4. Verify the win32k.sys version after update matches the patched version for your OS (e.g., Windows 7 SP1 should have win32k.sys version 6.1.7601.18126 or later).
  5. For end-of-life operating systems (Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista without extended support), migrate to a supported Windows version as no further security patches are available.
Caveat None expected from the security patch; however, ensure compatibility with legacy applications before upgrading end-of-life systems

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA3.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,560
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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-2013-3660 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
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data