CVE-2010-3962 — Microsoft
HIGHCVE-2010-3962 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.1) Use After Free vulnerability. 5 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.
Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) token sequences…
Exploitation Status
Actively exploited in the wild
- CISA’s SSVC triage classifies this CVE as under active exploitation.
- CISA assesses this as automatable — exploitation doesn’t require manual, per-target effort, which raises the odds of mass scanning and opportunistic attacks.
- A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.
Exploitation and automatability from CISA’s SSVC triage for CVE-2010-3962.
EPSS Exploitation Probability
Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.
How urgent is this, really
CVE-2010-3962 by exploitation likelihood (EPSS) against impact (CVSS). In the shaded patch-first corner (EPSS 50%+, CVSS 7.0+).
Where this sits among everything scored
Of 394,803 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the ≥ 90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.
Description
Use-after-free vulnerability in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, 7, and 8 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via vectors related to Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) token sequences and the clip attribute, aka an "invalid flag reference" issue or "Uninitialized Memory Corruption Vulnerability," as exploited in the wild in November 2010.
Affected Products
internet explorermicrosoftResearch use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Microsoft Internet Explorer - Memory Corruption
by anonymous · Nov 4, 2010
Microsoft Internet Explorer - CSS SetUserClip Memory Corruption (MS10-090) (Metasploit)
by Metasploit · Jan 20, 2011
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/7/8 - Memory Corruption
by ryujin · Nov 4, 2010
Detection & mitigation playbook
VulnerabilityDetect
Identify every host running the affected component and compare the installed build against the fixed version below — for source-built or distro-packaged software the version string, not a lockfile, is the source of truth (`dpkg -l`, `rpm -q`, or the binary's own `--version`).
Remediation status
No fixed release is recorded for CVE-2010-3962 yet. Track the upstream advisory, and apply the exposure-reduction steps below in the meantime.
Mitigate without a patch
Constrain what reaches the vulnerable code: limit the size and shape of untrusted input, isolate the affected component in a sandboxed or least-privileged process, and enable the platform's memory-safety mitigations (ASLR, stack protector, hardened allocator) so an out-of-bounds access is more likely to fail closed than to be exploitable.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is CVE-2010-3962 in your dependencies?
Find it across , including transitive dependencies.