How severe is CVE-2013-3893?

CVE-2013-3893 has a CVSS score of 8.8/10, rated HIGH. Immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Which products are affected by CVE-2013-3893?

CVE-2013-3893 affects the following products: microsoft internet explorer.

How do I patch CVE-2013-3893?

No patch has shipped for CVE-2013-3893 yet — track the microsoft internet explorer advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds below in the meantime.

How do I detect CVE-2013-3893 across my infrastructure?

Inventory every microsoft internet explorer deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.

How do I mitigate CVE-2013-3893 if there is no patch (or I can't update yet)?

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. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Is CVE-2013-3893 actively exploited in the wild?

Yes. There are 5 known exploit references for CVE-2013-3893, including 2 documented proof-of-concept exploits on Exploit-DB and 3 in-the-wild exploitations observed on GitHub and other sources. Treat this as actively exploitable and prioritize patching immediately. All exploit code should only be run in an isolated sandbox environment for research or authorized testing — never against production systems without explicit written authorization.

What is the EPSS score for CVE-2013-3893?

CVE-2013-3893 has an EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) score of 87.6%, placing it in the 100th percentile of all CVEs. EPSS is maintained by FIRST.org and estimates the probability that a vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days. A score above 50% indicates significantly elevated exploitation risk — immediate patching is strongly recommended.

Is CVE-2013-3893 in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog?

Yes. CVE-2013-3893 (Microsoft Internet Explorer Resource Management Errors Vulnerability) was added to CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog on 2025-08-12. CISA required all US federal civilian agencies to remediate this vulnerability by 2025-09-02. The required action was: Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable. Being listed in the KEV catalog is the strongest possible confirmation of active exploitation — treat this as a critical priority.

What type of vulnerability is CVE-2013-3893?

CVE-2013-3893 is classified as Use After Free (CWE-416). This weakness type describe the underlying flaw category, which helps determine the potential impact and the right class of mitigation.

Which products and versions are affected by CVE-2013-3893?

CVE-2013-3893 affects microsoft internet explorer (6 versions, e.g. 6, 7, 8…). Check the affected-products list on this page against your deployed version to confirm exposure.

When was CVE-2013-3893 published, and has it been updated?

CVE-2013-3893 was published on September 18, 2013 and was last updated on June 16, 2026. Advisory data evolves as severity scores, affected ranges, and exploit intelligence are revised — always check the latest version of the advisory before acting.

🛡️

CISA KEV · ACTIVELY EXPLOITED

HIGH severity

CVE-2013-3893 — Internet Explorer

HIGH

CVE-2013-3893 is a high-severity (CVSS 8.8) Use After Free vulnerability in microsoft internet explorer. It is in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2025-08-12) — treat it as actively exploited and patch now. No vendor fix is recorded yet; mitigation options are listed below.

Use-after-free vulnerability in the SetMouseCapture implementation in mshtml.dll in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted…

Published

Sep 18, 2013

Updated

Jun 16, 2026

Affected

1 product

Patched

See advisory

Exploits

5 known

Exploitation data as of Oct 23, 2026 · OSV.dev, NVD, CISA KEV, FIRST.org (EPSS)

Exploitation Status

Actively exploited in the wild

Confirmed by CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog on 2025-08-12. Federal agencies were required to remediate by 2025-09-02.
A successful exploit gives an attacker total control of the affected component, not partial access.

Exploitation and automatability from CISA (KEV catalog and SSVC triage) for CVE-2013-3893.

EPSS Exploitation Probability

via FIRST.org ↗

87.6%probability of exploitation in next 30 days

Very High Risk+1.71%

Lower risk than most CVEs100th percentile — riskier than 100% of all scored CVEsHighest risk

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days, from FIRST.org EPSS.

How urgent is this, really

CVE-2013-3893 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 395,249 CVEs with a current EPSS score, this one falls in the 50–90% band (highlighted). Counts from FIRST.org, log-scaled.

Description

Use-after-free vulnerability in the SetMouseCapture implementation in mshtml.dll in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via crafted JavaScript strings, as demonstrated by use of an ms-help: URL that triggers loading of hxds.dll.

Affected Products

1 product · 7 configurations

Application

internet explorermicrosoft

6 versions

67891011

Exploits & PoCs

Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.

EDB-28682remotewindows✓ Verified

Micorosft Internet Explorer - SetMouseCapture Use-After-Free (Metasploit)

by Metasploit · Oct 2, 2013

Exploit-DB Source

EDB-49872localwindows

Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 - 'SetMouseCapture ' Use After Free

by SlidingWindow · May 17, 2021

Exploit-DB Source

Detection & mitigation playbook

Vendor / appliance

Detect
Inventory every microsoft internet explorer deployment and check each version against the affected-products list above.
Remediation status
No patch has shipped for CVE-2013-3893 yet — track the microsoft internet explorer advisory for a fixed release and apply the workarounds 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. Alongside that, restrict the management interface to trusted networks and apply the vendor's recommended configuration mitigations.

Frequently Asked Questions

O3 Security · Runtime Protection

Is CVE-2013-3893 being exploited in your environment?

Detect and block the exploit chain at execution, on systems you cannot patch yet.

Protect my workloads How runtime protection works