CVE-2013-3900

WinVerifyTrust Signature Validation Vulnerability

  • Medium 5.5
  • Exploited: added to CISA KEV 10 Jan 2022

Description

Why is Microsoft republishing a CVE from 2013? We are republishing CVE-2013-3900 in the Security Update Guide to update the Security Updates table and to inform customers that the EnableCertPaddingCheck is available in all currently supported versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. While the format is different from the original CVE published in 2013, except for clarifications about how to configure the EnableCertPaddingCheck registry value, the information herein remains unchanged from the original text published on December 10, 2013, Microsoft does not plan to enforce the stricter verification behavior as a default functionality on supported releases of Microsoft Windows. This behavior remains available as an opt-in feature via reg key setting, and is available on supported editions of Windows released since December 10, 2013. This includes all currently supported versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11. The supporting code for this reg key was incorporated at the time of release for Windows 10 and Windows 11, so no security update is required; however, the reg key must be set. See the Security Updates table for the list of affected software. Vulnerability Description A remote code execution vulnerability exists in the way that the WinVerifyTrust function handles Windows Authenticode signature verification for portable executable (PE) files. An anonymous attacker could exploit the vulnerability by modifying an existing signed executable file to leverage unverified portions of the file in such a way as to add malicious code to the file without invalidating the signature. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. If a user is logged on with administrative user rights, an attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could take complete control of an affected system. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full user rights. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. Exploitation of this vulnerability requires that a user or application run or install a specially crafted, signed PE file. An attacker could modify an... See more at https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2013-3900

Key facts

Published
11 Dec 2013
Last changed
8 Oct 2026
Assigned by
microsoft
KEV added
10 Jan 2022
KEV fix due
10 Jul 2022
EPSS
44.647% likely to be exploited in the next 30 days, higher than 98.791% of CVEs (scores for 15 Nov 2026)
SSVC (CISA)
Exploitation: active; Automatable: no; Technical impact: partial

Severity scores

Each score is shown as its source gave it. They are not averaged or merged.

  • 5.5CVSS 3.1, Mediumfrom the CNA (microsoft)CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N/E:U/RL:O/RC:C

What to do

  • Apply updates per vendor instructions.CISA KEV required action

Historical context and remediation

This reference retains the original CVE publication date. A recent record update does not mean a new attack occurred.

No separately sourced impact summary is available on this page yet. Consult the description, version data and dated exploitation evidence.

Version statuses below come from the CNA. An “unaffected” version is not necessarily a currently supported release or proof of a patch date. EPSS is a dated risk estimate, not a count of historical attacks.

Read the original CVE record.

Affected products

VendorProductVersions
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1809
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1809
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2019
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2022
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 11 version 21H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 21H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 11 version 22H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 22H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 11 version 22H3
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 11 Version 23H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 11 Version 24H2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2025
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1507
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows 10 Version 1607
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2016
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 R2
  • N/A (affected)
MicrosoftWindows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)
  • N/A (affected)

Timeline

  1. 11 Dec 2013 Published
  2. 10 Jan 2022 Added to the CISA KEV catalogue

Weakness

References