CriticalCVE-2013-5065

    Microsoft Windows Kernel Privilege Escalation Vulnerability (CVE-2013-5065)

    Published In CISA KEV since Sources: CVE.org

    What is affected, what to do

    NDProxy.sys in the kernel in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3 and Server 2003 SP2 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, as exploited in the wild in November 2013.

    The vulnerability is being actively exploited; treat it as a priority. The available sources name no fixed version. Check the vendor guidance in the references below. Immediate actions, mitigation and detection rules are in the runbook below.

    Not sure whether and how you are affected? Ask a question about this vulnerability

    Metrics

    7.8

    Priority

    XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.

    Source: NVD, CVSS v3

    7.8

    CVSS v3

    Severity High on the scale from 0 to 10.

    Source: CVE.org

    34.7 %

    EPSS score

    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.

    Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 98.4

    Show all metrics
    Severity
    Critical
    Priority (0–325)

    The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?

    Read in glossary
    216.49 Methodology
    Exploit maturity

    An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.

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    actively exploited
    XIEM Effective CVSS

    XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.

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    7.8 Methodology
    CVSS v3

    CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.

    Read in glossary
    7.8
    EPSS score

    The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.

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    34.7 %
    Elevated — model estimates 10-50% exploitation likelihood.
    EPSS percentile

    The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.

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    98.4
    Critical — this CVE ranks in the top fifth of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 80%).
    KEV status

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

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    Actively exploited
    Published
    In CISA KEV since

    The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.

    Read in glossary
    CISA assessment (SSVC)
    Exploitation: active · not automatable · Technical impact: total
    Source: CISA Vulnrichment, as of 10 February 2025

    Response and mitigation

    Why act now?

    Prioritisation rationale

    This flaw needs local code execution and user interaction, so it is a second-stage tool rather than an entry point. It lifts an attacker from user context to SYSTEM after a document or browser exploit lands. Public exploits have circulated for years, exploitation likelihood is rated very high, and CISA reports no known ransomware use. For most organisations, exposure is limited to residual XP/2003 islands in OT, lab equipment, medical devices or point-of-sale systems. There, priority is high: SYSTEM access on a poorly monitored legacy box is an ideal beachhead for lateral movement. If no XP/2003 assets exist, a verified negative inventory result closes the item.

    1. Runbook step 1

      Immediate response (0-24 h)

      • Inventory: Enumerate every Windows XP (SP2/SP3) and Windows Server 2003 SP2 host using CMDB data, the AD operatingSystem attribute and network scans (e.g. nmap --script smb-os-discovery on port 445). Both platforms are end-of-life, so any hit is a vulnerability-management finding in its own right.
      • Verify patching: A patch is available from the vendor — look up the exact version in the vendor advisory. Confirm install status per host. Treat unpatched hosts as SYSTEM-compromisable by any process that achieves local code execution.
      • Workaround if unpatched: Microsoft's documented workaround redirects the NDProxy service by pointing HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NDProxy\ImagePath at system32\drivers\null.sys, followed by a reboot. Side effect: RAS, VPN and TAPI functionality breaks. Clear this with the system owner first.
      • Isolate: Power down XP/2003 hosts that are not strictly required. Move the rest into a dedicated legacy VLAN with no internet access and no mail client.
      • Close the entry vector: In-the-wild exploitation chains this bug with a client-side exploit, such as a malicious PDF or Office document. Remove or block PDF readers, browsers and Office on affected hosts.
      • Rotate credentials: If compromise is suspected, rotate local admin and service-account passwords. Treat any domain credentials cached on these hosts as exposed once SYSTEM was reached.

    2. Runbook step 2

      Mitigation layers

      • Network segmentation: Run the legacy VLAN behind an allow-list firewall policy with no outbound internet. Permit SMB (445/139) and RDP (3389) only from designated jump hosts. Block host-to-host traffic between XP/2003 machines.
      • Application control: Deploy Software Restriction Policies via GPO in "Disallowed" mode. Allow only approved paths and block execution from %TEMP%, %APPDATA% and user profiles.
      • Least privilege: Minimise interactive logons on legacy hosts. Never allow domain-admin logons to XP/2003 (GPO "Deny log on locally" for Tier-0 accounts).
      • Mail/web gateway: Sandbox or block PDF, DOC and RTF attachments for users who work on legacy hosts. This cuts off the initial code execution that this local privilege escalation depends on.
      • Retirement: Set a dated migration or virtualisation plan. Where replacement is impossible (OT, medical devices), document a formal management risk acceptance in line with NIS2 Art. 20/21.

    3. Runbook step 3

      Detection rules

      • Process lineage (Security log): XP/2003 logs process creation as Event ID 592, not 4688, and process tracking auditing must be enabled. Flag cmd.exe, rundll32.exe or unknown binaries spawned by AcroRd32.exe, WINWORD.EXE or iexplore.exe, especially running as NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM. Example SPL: index=wineventlog EventCode=592 (Creator="*AcroRd32.exe" OR Creator="*WINWORD.EXE") (New_Process_Name="*\\cmd.exe" OR New_Process_Name="*\\rundll32.exe")
      • Token anomaly: Look for a process running as SYSTEM whose parent runs as a standard user. This is the core signature of a kernel privilege escalation and is visible in EDR process trees, provided the agent still supports XP/2003.
      • Registry integrity: Monitor HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\NDProxy with object-access auditing or FIM. This confirms the workaround stays in place and catches reversion.
      • Network telemetry (Zeek/Suricata): Alert on any outbound HTTP/DNS from the legacy VLAN and on new SMB/RDP sessions originating from XP/2003 hosts. Example Zeek logic: conn.log where the source is in the legacy subnet, id.resp_p in {445,3389}, and the destination is not on the jump-host list.
      • New services and accounts: Correlate Event IDs 601 (service installed, 2003), 624 (account created) and 632/636 (group membership changed) on legacy hosts. These are typical post-exploitation persistence steps.

    Detection rules

    No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.

    Classification under NIS2 and CRA

    Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.

    NIS2

    NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.

    Read in glossary
    Actively exploited: treat the vulnerability as a priority in vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2. If it is exploited in your environment, check the reporting obligation under Art. 23 (early warning within 24 hours).
    CRA

    The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.

    Read in glossary
    Since 11.09.2026, manufacturers of affected products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities under Art. 14 CRA, with an early warning within 24 hours via ENISA's single reporting platform.
    ISO/IEC 27001

    ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.

    Read in glossary
    Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.

    Description

    NDProxy.sys in the kernel in Microsoft Windows XP SP2 and SP3 and Server 2003 SP2 allows local users to gain privileges via a crafted application, as exploited in the wild in November 2013.

    Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, CISA KEV Catalog, CVE.org (MITRE)

    Vendors and products

    Affected operating systems

    Affected operating systems
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_2003_server—
    Windowsmicrosoftwindows_xp—

    Public exploit references

    Publicly reported proof-of-concepts, exploit modules and detection templates for this vulnerability. NEOSEC links to the original sources only and does not provide any exploit code.

    Public exploit references
    CISA KEV CatalogCISA Known Exploited Vulnerability (opens in a new tab)cisa.govactively exploited
    Exploit-DBEDB-ID 37732 (opens in a new tab)exploit-db.comPoC (publicly reported)reported, not verified—

    References & sources

    • fireeye.comblog/technical/cyber-exploits/2013/11/ms-windows-local-privileg…x_refsource_MISC, Broken link, Not applicable
    • exploit-db.com37732Exploit, x_refsource_EXPLOIT-DB, Exploit, Third-party advisory, Vulnerability database
    • docs.microsoft.comMS14-002Vendor advisory, x_refsource_MS, Patch, Vendor advisory
    • technet.microsoft.comsecurity/advisory/2914486x_refsource_CONFIRM, Patch, Vendor advisory
    • cisa.govknown-exploited-vulnerabilities-catalog?field_cve=CVE-2013-5065government-resource, US government resource
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