CVE-2013-3876
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 · uneditedDirectAccess in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows Vista SP1 and SP2, Windows Server 2008 SP2 and R2 SP1, Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 does not properly verify server X.509 certificates, which allows man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers and read encrypted domain credentials via a crafted certificate.
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 confidenceDirectAccess in multiple Windows versions fails to properly validate server X.509 certificates, allowing man-in-the-middle attackers to spoof servers using crafted certificates and intercept encrypted domain credentials.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versions= r2all versions= r2CVSS 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
- None
- Availability
- None
AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:N/A:N
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check if DirectAccess is enabledOpen PowerShell and run: Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.InterfaceDescription -match 'DirectAccess'} or check Group Policy at Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Network > DirectAccess SettingsAffected if DirectAccess is configured and enabled on the system
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Identify Windows versionRun 'winver' from Run dialog, or in Command Prompt run 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"', or in PowerShell run 'Get-ComputerInfo | Select-Object WindowsProductName, WindowsVersion'Affected if Version is Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Rt, Windows Rt 8.1, Server 2003, Server 2008, Server 2008 R2, Server 2012, or Server 2012 R2 and DirectAccess is enabled
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Verify MS13-068 security update is installedIn Command Prompt run 'wmic qfe list | findstr /i "KB2859537"' or in PowerShell run 'Get-HotFix -Id KB2859537' (note: KB2859537 is the KB for MS13-068)Affected if The security update KB2859537 is NOT installed and the Windows version matches affected products with DirectAccess enabled
A system is affected if it runs an affected Windows version (7, 8, 8.1, Rt, Rt 8.1, Server 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2), has DirectAccess enabled or configured, and is missing security update KB2859537.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataApply Microsoft security updates (MS13-068) for affected Windows versions to fix the certificate verification logic in DirectAccess.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,808.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3876 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-3876 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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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.
- 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