Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 15 Aug 2022.
Excel ViewerApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3906

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2013-11-06
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 High EPSS 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
GDI+ in Microsoft Windows Vista SP2 and Server 2008 SP2; Office 2003 SP3, 2007 SP3, and 2010 SP1 and SP2; Office Compatibility Pack SP3; and Lync 2010, 2010 Attendee, 2013, and Basic 2013 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a crafted TIFF image, as demonstrated by an image in a Word document, and exploited in the wild in October and November 2013.

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

GDI+ memory corruption vulnerability allowing remote code execution through crafted TIFF images embedded in documents (primarily Word). Exploited in the wild via malicious document delivery. Affects Windows Vista/Server 2008, Office 2003/2007/2010, and Lync products.

MitigationApply Microsoft security update MS13-096 to all affected systems. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted documents containing images and disable TIFF rendering in affected applications where possible.

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
Excel ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
LyncApplication
Affected:= 2010= 2013
OfficeApplication
Affected:= 2003= 2007= 2010
Office Compatibility PackApplication
Affected:all versions
Powerpoint ViewerApplication
Affected:= 2010
Word ViewerApplication
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows VistaOperating 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 check system properties. Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 are affected.
    Affected if Operating system is Windows Vista or Windows Server 2008 (any version) and MS13-096 update is not installed
  2. Identify installed Microsoft Office products
    Check installed programs in Control Panel or run 'Get-ItemProperty HKLM:\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\* | DisplayName' to list installed Office applications.
    Affected if Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, or 2010 is installed and MS13-096 update is not applied
  3. Check for Lync installation
    Look for Microsoft Lync 2010 or Lync 2013 in installed programs or check the relevant registry key.
    Affected if Microsoft Lync 2010 or Lync 2013 is installed and MS13-096 update is not applied
  4. Verify MS13-096 security update is installed
    Run 'Get-HotFix -Id KB2901674' in PowerShell or check Windows Update history for security update KB2901674.
    Affected if The security update KB2901674 (MS13-096) is NOT listed as installed on the system

System is vulnerable if it runs Windows Vista/Server 2008 or has Office 2003/2007/2010/Lync installed, and the KB2901674 update is missing.

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
Patch available Apply the vendor patch
Interim mitigation

Apply Microsoft security update MS13-096 to all affected systems. Until patched, avoid opening untrusted documents containing images and disable TIFF rendering in affected applications where possible.

Fix this in Excel Viewer Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $5,120.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3906 — 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 sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2013-3906 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