CVE-2013-3900
Confirmed PUBLISHEDWinVerifyTrust Signature Validation Vulnerability
Recommended Action
Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
At a Glance
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
- CVE Published
- Dec 11, 2013
- Exploitation Reported
- Jan 10, 2022
- CVSS
- 5.5 Medium
- EPSS
- 44.6%
Affected Versions
28 version rows · page 1 of 2
| Vendor | Product | Version | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 1809
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 1809
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2019
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2022
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 11 version 21H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 21H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 11 version 22H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 22H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 11 version 22H3
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 11 Version 23H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 11 Version 24H2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2025
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 1507
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows 10 Version 1607
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2016
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation)
|
N/A |
Affected |
| Microsoft |
Windows Server 2012
|
N/A |
Affected |
CVE References
- WinVerifyTrust Signature Validation Vulnerability msrc.microsoft.com · Vendor Advisory https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2013-3900
Recommended Actions
- Prioritize remediation. Validate affected assets and apply vendor fixes on an accelerated timeline.
- Check enrichment artifacts for scanner coverage and available PoCs before rolling remediation validation.
- Use the Pro API to automate enrichment, telemetry, and workflow delivery for VM, SOC, and CTI pipelines.
Known Exploited Vulnerability Sources
Catalogues that list this CVE as a known exploited vulnerability.
Per-source evidence links for KEV attestations are available through the KEVIntel Pro API.
Learn about Pro API access| Source | Added |
|---|---|
| CISA First | 2022-01-10 00:00 UTC |
| Tenable Blog | 2026-06-02 14:21 UTC |
No detection artifacts or sensor request patterns are available for this CVE yet.
Check back as sensor telemetry and scanner integrations are updated.
Virtual Patch
Compensating WAF rules to help reduce exposure to this CVE. Rule content and deployable vendor exports are available with KEVIntel Enterprise.
KEVIntel does not currently have a virtual patch for this CVE. When available, KEVIntel virtual patches ship as deployable ModSecurity, Cloudflare, and AWS WAF rules.
Enterprise feature. Virtual patch rule content and deployable vendor exports (ModSecurity, Cloudflare, AWS WAF) are available to KEVIntel Enterprise users.
CVSS Scores
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C
Exploitation Status
Exploited in the wild
Recorded 2022-01-10 00:00:00 UTC · CISA
Proof of concept available
Recorded 2022-09-06 16:37:51 UTC · GitHub
Weaknesses (CWE)
-
Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature
Recent Mentions
Tenable Blog · May 27, 2026
Tenable Research has developed a graph-based model linking 600+ threat groups to real-world customer exposures. It reveals which vulnerabilities sit at the intersection of severity, active exploitation, and organizational risk.Key takeawaysThe "patch everything" strategy is dead: Vulnerability prioritization based on exploitation risk offers a path forward. A directed graph model linking 600+ threat actors to vulnerabilities in 7,800 customer environments reveals that 68% of organizations carry at least one CVE previously exploited by a named adversary, and 321 tracked threat groups can reach at least one customer environment through an active vulnerability. Prevalence of "Elite Arsenal" CVEs requires immediate attention: The 242 "Elite Arsenal" CVEs — those meeting all three criteria of critical VPR (≥ 9), CISA KEV listing, and documented threat group exploitation — are nearly universally present across the studied customer base, with 241 of 242 actively detected. More than half are five or more years old, and 78% of the persistently exploited core are simultaneously weaponized by nation-state APTs, commodity malware operators, and ransomware gangs. Non-CVE exposures are universally dangerous: Non-CVE exposures, including misconfigurations, weak credentials, and end-of-life software, are present in virtually 100% of studied organizations, with 60% carrying at least one that maps to a tracked threat actor's preferred techniques. Preliminary modeling suggests these exposures may confer more breach risk than CVE-linked findings, yet no industry-standard scoring infrastructure exists to prioritize them.While the first two posts in this blog series documented the accelerating vulnerability flood and the widening remediation gap, today we answer the outstanding question: Where do these forces actually collide inside customer environments? Using a directed graph model that maps more than 600 tracked threat groups to vulnerabilities observed across 7,800 organizations,...
Potential Proof of Concepts
These PoCs are unverified and could contain malware. Use at your own risk.
github · Created 2025-03-31 18:18:52 UTC · 0 stars
Script to make changes on registry to fix CVE-2013-3900. It comes with an option to undo in case it breaks something on your environment.
github · Created 2025-03-16 05:49:23 UTC · 0 stars
github · Created 2024-09-11 01:15:40 UTC · 0 stars
Powershell script that checks for cert padding in the Windows Registry and adds it if it does not exist. Meant to resolve the WinTrustVerify Vulnerability.
github · Created 2024-05-21 15:19:49 UTC · 0 stars
github · Created 2022-09-06 16:37:51 UTC · 0 stars
Remediation for CVE-2013-3900
Timeline
Key exploitation, disclosure, scanner coverage, and KEV attestation events for this CVE.
-
14:21 UTC about 2 months ago14:21 UTC · about 2 months ago
KEV confirmed by Tenable Blog
Exploitation attested by an external source
-
16:37 UTC almost 4 years ago16:37 UTC · almost 4 years ago
Public PoC available
Public proof-of-concept code published
-
00:00 UTC over 4 years ago00:00 UTC · over 4 years ago
Added to CISA KEV
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog
-
00:00 UTC over 12 years ago00:00 UTC · over 12 years ago
CVE published
Vulnerability disclosed publicly
-
00:00 UTC about 13 years ago00:00 UTC · about 13 years ago
CVE ID reserved
Identifier reserved by the CNA
Automate This Intelligence with the Pro API
Confidence scoring, exploit status, sensor telemetry, PoCs, scanner integrations, mentions, and tags are available programmatically for VM, SOC, and CTI workflows.
Pro API Example
GET /api/v2/pro/kevs/CVE-2013-3900
{
"cve_id": "CVE-2013-3900",
"title": "WinVerifyTrust Signature Validation Vulnerability",
"affected_vendor": "Microsoft",
"affected_product": "Windows 10 Version 1809, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2019 (Server Core installation), Windows Server 2022, Windows 11 version 21H2, Windows 10 Version 21H2, Windows 11 version 22H2, Windows 10 Version 22H2, Windows Server 2025 (Server Core installation), Windows 11 version 22H3, Windows 11 Version 23H2, Windows Server 2022, 23H2 Edition (Server Core installation), Windows 11 Version 24H2, Windows Server 2025, Windows 10 Version 1507, Windows 10 Version 1607, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2016 (Server Core installation), Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (Server Core installation), Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2, Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1, Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (Server Core installation), Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 (Server Core installation), Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012 R2 (Server Core installation)",
"affected_versions": [
{ "vendor": "...", "product": "...", "status": "affected", "display_label": "..." }
],
"confidence": "Confirmed",
"cvss_score": 5.5,
"epss_score": 0.44647,
"exploit_status": {
"exploited_in_the_wild": true,
"active_exploitation_observed": false
},
"sensor_telemetry": { "...": "Pro API fields" },
"proof_of_concepts": [ "..." ],
"scanner_integrations": [ "..." ]
}