CVE-2002-1696
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedMicrosoft Outlook plug-in PGP version 7.0, 7.0.3, and 7.0.4 silently saves a decrypted copy of a message to hard disk when "Automatically decrypt/verify when opening messages" option is checked, "Always use Secure Viewer when decrypting" option is not checked, and the user replies to an encrypted message.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceThe PGP Outlook plugin versions 7.0, 7.0.3, and 7.0.4 contain a vulnerability where decrypted plaintext copies of encrypted messages are silently written to the hard disk when the user replies to an encrypted message, provided 'Automatically decrypt/verify when opening messages' is enabled but 'Always use Secure Viewer when decrypting' is disabled. This creates an information disclosure risk as decrypted content persists on disk.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 7.0= 7.0.3= 7.0.4CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Local
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Confirm PGP Outlook plugin installationCheck for PGP plugin in Outlook or look for PGP-related files in the Microsoft Outlook directory. Also check Windows Registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\PGP Corporation\PGP or HKCU\Software\PGP Corporation for PGP components.Affected if PGP Outlook plugin is found on the system
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Identify installed PGP versionOpen Windows Registry and navigate to HKLM\SOFTWARE\PGP Corporation\PGP\ or check the version property of pgp.dll in the Outlook plugins folder. Compare the version number to 7.0, 7.0.3, or 7.0.4.Affected if Installed version matches 7.0, 7.0.3, or 7.0.4 exactly
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Verify if automatic decryption is enabledOpen PGP preferences in Outlook or the PGP Control Panel. Look for the setting labeled 'Automatically decrypt/verify when opening messages' and confirm whether it is checked or enabled.Affected if The 'Automatically decrypt/verify when opening messages' option is enabled
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Verify if Secure Viewer is disabledIn the same PGP preferences area, locate the 'Always use Secure Viewer when decrypting' option and confirm whether it is unchecked or disabled.Affected if The 'Always use Secure Viewer when decrypting' option is disabled
User is affected if PGP Outlook plugin version 7.0, 7.0.3, or 7.0.4 is installed with automatic decryption enabled AND Secure Viewer disabled, as this configuration causes decrypted plaintext to be written to disk when replying to encrypted messages.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataDisable the 'Automatically decrypt/verify when opening messages' option, or enable the 'Always use Secure Viewer when decrypting' option in the PGP plugin settings to prevent decrypted content from being written to disk. Alternatively, upgrade to a current PGP version that addresses this behavior.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation1.0 h
- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA0.5 h
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Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2002-1696 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-1696 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data