CVE-2013-3897

What is this vulnerability?

CVE-2013-3897 is categorized as a high Use After Free flaw with a CVSS base score of 8.8. Based on our vulnerability intelligence, this issue occurs when the application fails to securely handle untrusted data boundaries.

Use-after-free vulnerability in the CDisplayPointer class in mshtml.dll in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 through 11 allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code or cause a denial of service (memory corruption) via crafted JavaScript code that uses the onpropertychange event handler, as exploited in the wild in September and October 2013, aka "Internet Explorer Memory Corruption Vulnerability."

This architectural defect enables adversaries to bypass intended security controls, directly manipulating the application's execution state or data layer. Immediate strategic intervention is required.

Risk Assessment

Impact on Systems

✅ Remote Code Execution: Attackers can overwrite the instruction pointer to redirect execution to malicious shellcode.

✅ Memory Corruption: Overwriting adjacent memory regions can corrupt critical application state, leading to privilege escalation.

✅ Denial of Service: Triggering segmentation faults results in immediate disruption of critical systems.

How to Fix and Mitigate CVE-2013-3897

1. Apply Vendor Patches Immediately: This vulnerability is listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog. Apply updates per vendor instructions.
2. Verify Patch Deployment: Confirm all instances are updated using Precogs continuous monitoring.
3. Review Audit Logs: Investigate historical access logs for indicators of compromise related to this attack surface.
4. Implement Defense-in-Depth: Deploy WAF rules, network segmentation, and endpoint detection to limit blast radius.

Defending with Precogs AI

A use-after-free vulnerability in Internet Explorer's MSHTML rendering engine allows remote code execution. Attackers host malicious web pages that manipulate DOM objects to execute shellcode. Precogs Binary SAST explicitly uncovers dangling pointers in browser engines.

Use Precogs to continuously scan your codebase, binaries, APIs, and infrastructure for this vulnerability class and related attack patterns. Our AI-powered detection engine combines static analysis with threat intelligence to identify exploitable weaknesses before attackers do.

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Vulnerability Code Signature

Attack Data Flow

Vulnerable Code Pattern

// ❌ VULNERABLE: Use After Free
char *ptr = malloc(256);
free(ptr);
// Taint sink: accessing freed memory
strcpy(ptr, "Exploit payload");

Secure Code Pattern

// ✅ SECURE: Nullifying pointers
char *ptr = malloc(256);
free(ptr);
// Sanitized state: pointer set to NULL
ptr = NULL;

How Precogs Detects This

Precogs Binary SAST engine identifies dangling pointers and complex use-after-free conditions in compiled rendering engines and system libraries.\n