CVE-2013-3942
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 · uneditedPotplayer prior to 1.5.39659: DLL Loading Arbitrary Code Execution 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 confidencePotplayer versions prior to 1.5.39659 are vulnerable to DLL hijacking. The application loads dynamic link libraries without proper path validation, allowing an attacker to place a malicious DLL in the same directory as a media file. When a user opens that file with Potplayer, the application loads the attacker's DLL instead of the legitimate system DLL, enabling arbitrary code execution with the user's privileges.
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< 1.5.39659CVSS 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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Locate Potplayer installationSearch for Potplayer.exe on the system - common paths include C:\Program Files\PotPlayer\, C:\Program Files (x86)\PotPlayer\, or check Start Menu shortcuts for the installation directory.Affected if Potplayer.exe is found on the system
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Get installed versionRight-click on Potplayer.exe, select Properties, then view the Details tab to see the File Version. Alternatively, right-click the Potplayer shortcut in the Start Menu, select Open file location, then check the executable properties.Affected if Version shown is less than 1.5.39659 or no version is displayed for a Potplayer build prior to that release
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Check for media file handling contextIdentify whether the user commonly opens media files from shared/network directories, download folders, or other locations where untrusted files may be placed alongside media content.Affected if User opens media files using Potplayer from directories writable by other users or untrusted sources
If Potplayer is installed with a version prior to 1.5.39659 and the user opens media files from directories where an attacker could place a malicious DLL, the environment is vulnerable to DLL hijacking via CVE-2013-3942.
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 data1.5.39659
Update Potplayer to version 1.5.39659 or later. Until then, avoid opening media files from untrusted or shared directories, and ensure the Potplayer executable directory is not writable by other users.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,200.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-3942 — 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-2013-3942 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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- 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