VDB-4212 · CVE-2010-3962 · VU#899748

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/7/8 CSS Tag Parsing resource management

CVSS Meta Temp Score CVSS is a standardized scoring system to determine possibilities of attacks. The Temp Score considers temporal factors like disclosure, exploit and countermeasures. The unique Meta Score calculates the average score of different sources to provide a normalized scoring system.	Current Exploit Price (≈) Our analysts are monitoring exploit markets and are in contact with vulnerability brokers. The range indicates the observed or calculated exploit price to be seen on exploit markets. A good indicator to understand the monetary effort required for and the popularity of an attack.	CTI Interest Score Our Cyber Threat Intelligence team is monitoring different web sites, mailing lists, exploit markets and social media networks. The CTI Interest Score identifies the interest of attackers and the security community for this specific vulnerability in real-time. A high score indicates an elevated risk to be targeted for this vulnerability.
7.0	$0-$5k	0.00

Summaryinfo

A vulnerability described as very critical has been identified in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/7/8. Affected is an unknown function of the component CSS Tag Parsing. The manipulation results in resource management. This vulnerability is reported as CVE-2010-3962. The attack can be launched remotely. Moreover, an exploit is present. Upgrading the affected component is recommended.

Detailsinfo

A vulnerability classified as very critical has been found in Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/7/8 (Web Browser). Affected is an unknown code block of the component CSS Tag Parsing. The manipulation with an unknown input leads to a resource management vulnerability. CWE is classifying the issue as CWE-399. This is going to have an impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. CVE summarizes:

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.

The weakness was disclosed 11/03/2010 by Jose Antonio Vazquez Gonzalez with 0-day as confirmed bulletin (Technet). The advisory is shared for download at microsoft.com. This vulnerability is traded as CVE-2010-3962 since 10/14/2010. It is possible to launch the attack remotely. The exploitation doesn't require any form of authentication. Successful exploitation requires user interaction by the victim. Technical details are unknown but a public exploit is available. The current price for an exploit might be approx. USD $0-$5k (estimation calculated on 04/22/2026). It is expected to see the exploit prices for this product decreasing in the near future.

The exploit is shared for download at packetstormsecurity.com. It is declared as attacked. As 0-day the estimated underground price was around $25k-$100k. The vulnerability scanner Nessus provides a plugin with the ID 51162 (MS10-090: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (2416400)), which helps to determine the existence of the flaw in a target environment. It is assigned to the family Windows : Microsoft Bulletins. The commercial vulnerability scanner Qualys is able to test this issue with plugin 100094 (Microsoft Internet Explorer Remote Code Execution Vulnerability (MS10-090)). This issue was added on 10/06/2025 to the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog with a due date of 10/27/2025:

Apply mitigations per vendor instructions, follow applicable BOD 22-01 guidance for cloud services, or discontinue use of the product if mitigations are unavailable.

Upgrading eliminates this vulnerability. Applying a patch is able to eliminate this problem. The bugfix is ready for download at microsoft.com. The best possible mitigation is suggested to be upgrading to the latest version. Furthermore it is possible to detect and prevent this kind of attack with TippingPoint and the filter 10643.

The vulnerability is also documented in the databases at X-Force (62962), Zero-Day.cz (82), Tenable (51162), SecurityFocus (BID 44536†) and OSVDB (69160†). The entries VDB-55757, VDB-55756, VDB-55755 and VDB-55754 are pretty similar. Once again VulDB remains the best source for vulnerability data.

Productinfo

Type

Web Browser

Vendor

Microsoft

Name

Internet Explorer

Version

License

commercial

Support

end of life

Website

Vendor: https://www.microsoft.com/

CPE 2.3info

CPE 2.2info

CVSSv4info

VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

CVSSv3info

VulDB Meta Base Score: 7.2
VulDB Meta Temp Score: 7.0

VulDB Base Score: 6.3
VulDB Temp Score: 6.0
VulDB Vector: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

ADP CISA Base Score: 8.1
ADP CISA Vector: 🔍

CVSSv2info

AV	AC	Au	C	I	A
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Vector	Complexity	Authentication	Confidentiality	Integrity	Availability
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VulDB Base Score: 🔍
VulDB Temp Score: 🔍
VulDB Reliability: 🔍

NVD Base Score: 🔍

Exploitinginfo

Class: Resource management
CWE: CWE-399 / CWE-404
CAPEC: 🔍
ATT&CK: 🔍

Physical: No
Local: No
Remote: Yes

Availability: 🔍
Access: Public
Status: Attacked
Download: 🔍

EPSS Score: 🔍
EPSS Percentile: 🔍

KEV Added: 🔍
KEV Due: 🔍
KEV Remediation: 🔍
KEV Ransomware: 🔍
KEV Notice: 🔍

Price Prediction: 🔍
Current Price Estimation: 🔍

0-Day	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock
Today	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock	Unlock

Nessus ID: 51162
Nessus Name: MS10-090: Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer (2416400)
Nessus File: 🔍
Nessus Risk: 🔍
Nessus Family: 🔍

OpenVAS ID: 900262
OpenVAS Name: Microsoft Internet Explorer Multiple Vulnerabilities (2416400)
OpenVAS File: 🔍
OpenVAS Family: 🔍

Saint ID: exploit_info/ie_css_clip
Saint Name: Internet Explorer CSS clip attribute memory corruption

Qualys ID: 🔍
Qualys Name: 🔍

MetaSploit ID: ms10_090_ie_css_clip.rb
MetaSploit Name: MS10-090 Microsoft Internet Explorer CSS SetUserClip Memory Corruption
MetaSploit File: 🔍

Exploit-DB: 🔍
Zero-Day.cz: 🔍

Threat Intelligenceinfo

Interest: 🔍
Active Actors: 🔍
Active APT Groups: 🔍

Countermeasuresinfo

Recommended: Upgrade
Status: 🔍

0-Day Time: 🔍

Patch: microsoft.com
Suricata ID: 2011891
Suricata Class: 🔍
Suricata Message: 🔍

TippingPoint: 🔍
ISS Proventia IPS: 🔍
PaloAlto IPS: 🔍
Fortigate IPS: 🔍

Timelineinfo

10/14/2010 🔍
11/03/2010 +19 days 🔍
11/03/2010 +0 days 🔍
11/03/2010 +0 days 🔍
11/04/2010 +1 days 🔍
11/05/2010 +1 days 🔍
11/19/2010 +14 days 🔍
04/22/2026 +5633 days 🔍

Sourcesinfo

Vendor: microsoft.com

Advisory: microsoft.com
Researcher: Jose Antonio Vazquez Gonzalez
Organization: 0-day
Status: Confirmed
Confirmation: 🔍

CVE: CVE-2010-3962 (🔍)
GCVE (CVE): GCVE-0-2010-3962
GCVE (VulDB): GCVE-100-4212

OVAL: 🔍

CERT: 🔍
X-Force: 62962 - Microsoft Internet Explorer invalid flag code execution, High Risk
SecurityFocus: 44536 - Microsoft Internet Explorer CSS Tags Uninitialized Memory Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
Secunia: 42091 - Internet Explorer Multiple Vulnerabilities, Extremely Critical
OSVDB: 69160
SecurityTracker: 1024676
Vulnerability Center: 28023 - [MS10-090] Microsoft Internet Explorer Invalid Flag Reference Remote Code Execution Vulnerability, Critical
Vupen: ADV-2010-2880

scip Labs: https://www.scip.ch/en/?labs.20161013
See also: 🔍

Entryinfo

Created: 11/19/2010 01:00
Updated: 04/22/2026 07:43
Changes: 11/19/2010 01:00 (58), 04/07/2017 12:02 (42), 03/18/2021 13:52 (2), 03/18/2021 13:57 (7), 03/18/2021 14:04 (2), 03/18/2021 14:07 (1), 06/17/2024 20:01 (16), 07/17/2024 07:09 (4), 01/26/2025 06:16 (1), 10/06/2025 20:34 (9), 10/06/2025 21:58 (1), 04/22/2026 07:43 (11)
Complete: 🔍
Cache ID: 216::103