dbcve.org
Actively exploited in the wild. This CVE is on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities list — treat remediation as urgent. Federal remediation due by 27 Oct 2025.
Windows 7Operating system · Microsoft

CVE-2013-3918

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2013-11-12
Patch available
A vendor patch is available. No clean upgrade release — apply the published patch.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
In the wild High EPSS Remotely reachable 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 InformationCardSigninHelper Class ActiveX control in icardie.dll 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, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 Gold and R2, and Windows RT Gold and 8.1 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (out-of-bounds write) via a crafted web page that is accessed by Internet Explorer, as exploited in the wild in November 2013, aka "InformationCardSigninHelper 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 remote code execution vulnerability in the InformationCardSigninHelper Class ActiveX control (icardie.dll) allows attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted web pages in Internet Explorer through an out-of-bounds write. The vulnerability affects multiple Windows versions and was actively exploited in the wild.

MitigationDisable the InformationCardSigninHelper ActiveX control in Internet Explorer settings or via registry/Group Policy, and apply the relevant Microsoft security patch. Consider using Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) or upgrading to unsupported Windows versions.

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 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows RtOperating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Rt 8.1Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2003Operating system
Affected:all versions
Windows Server 2008Operating system
Affected:= r2= sp2
Windows Server 2012Operating system
Affected:all versions= r2

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/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. Confirm Windows version is affected
    Run 'winver' or 'systeminfo | findstr /B /C:"OS Name" /C:"OS Version"' and verify the system is Windows 7, 8, 8.1, Rt, Rt 8.1, Server 2003, Server 2008 R2/SP2, or Server 2012/R2
    Affected if The system runs any of these Windows versions listed as affected
  2. Locate icardie.dll on the system
    Search for icardie.dll using 'dir /s C:\icardie.dll' or 'Get-ChildItem -Path C:\ -Recurse -Filter icardie.dll -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue'
    Affected if icardie.dll exists on the system, indicating the vulnerable component is present
  3. Check if InformationCardSigninHelper ActiveX control is registered
    Query the registry for the CLSID {19916E01-B94E-4C6D-8F53-6B518C700000} under HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID using 'reg query "HKCR\CLSID\{19916E01-B94E-4C6D-8F53-6B518C700000}"'
    Affected if The ActiveX control CLSID is registered in the system registry
  4. Determine if ActiveX controls are enabled in Internet Explorer
    Open Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Custom Level, and check the setting under 'ActiveX controls and plugins' for 'Initialize and script ActiveX controls not marked as safe'
    Affected if This setting is set to Enable or Prompt, making the exploit possible
  5. Check for recent icardie.dll file modification
    Run 'dir /a /T:C C:\Windows\System32\icardie.dll' or use PowerShell 'Get-Item C:\Windows\System32\icardie.dll | Select-Object LastWriteTime' to see when the DLL was last updated
    Affected if The file was last written before November 2013 and no security update MS13-090 has been applied

A system is likely affected if it runs an affected Windows version, contains icardie.dll, has the InformationCardSigninHelper ActiveX control registered, and has ActiveX controls enabled in Internet Explorer without the MS13-090 patch applied.

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

Disable the InformationCardSigninHelper ActiveX control in Internet Explorer settings or via registry/Group Policy, and apply the relevant Microsoft security patch. Consider using Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit (EMET) or upgrading to unsupported Windows versions.

Recommended fix High confidence

Upgrade to a supported Windows version (Windows 10 or later, Windows Server 2016 or later) as legacy versions (Windows XP, Vista, Server 2003, Server 2008, Windows 7/8 without extended support) are no longer supported

  1. Apply Microsoft Security Bulletin MS13-090 (Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer) which addresses this vulnerability
  2. Verify the icardie.dll version has been updated to a version that includes the security fix
  3. Alternatively, disable the InformationCardSigninHelper ActiveX control in Internet Explorer as a mitigation measure
  4. Ensure Internet Explorer is updated through Windows Update or manual patch deployment
Caveat Many affected operating systems are beyond mainstream support; Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 require Extended Security Updates (ESU) purchase for patches; some legacy systems may not receive further security updates

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

Fix this in Windows 7 Exploited in the wild — priority engagement
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
14.0 hours of engineering $2,490
Get it fixed fast

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3918 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

Get it on GitHub Scan in the browser

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-2013-3918 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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