dbcve.org
IeApplication · Microsoft

CVE-2002-2125

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v2.0 Published 2002-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
73/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
Internet Explorer 6.0 does not warn users when an expired certificate authority (CA) certificate is submitted to the user and a newer CA certificate is in the user's local repository, which could allow remote attackers to decrypt web sessions via a man-in-the-middle (MITM) attack.

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 confidence

Internet Explorer 6.0 fails to warn users when presented with an expired Certificate Authority (CA) certificate while a newer valid CA certificate exists in the user's local certificate repository. This allows an attacker performing a man-in-the-middle attack to present an expired certificate and decrypt encrypted web sessions.

MitigationUpgrade from Internet Explorer 6.0 to a modern browser with proper certificate validation, or ensure certificate revocation checking and warning mechanisms are enabled in newer Internet Explorer versions.

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
IeApplication
Affected:= 6.0
Internet ExplorerApplication
Affected:= 6.0.2600= 6.0.2800.1106

CVSS 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
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
None

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify Internet Explorer version
    Open Internet Explorer, click Help, then About Internet Explorer. Note the version and build number displayed.
    Affected if The version shows 6.0 with build 2600 or 2800.1106 exactly.
  2. Check IE version via registry
    Open regedit and navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer. Look for the Version string value.
    Affected if The Version value matches 6.0.2600.0000 or 6.0.2800.1106.
  3. Verify Windows version context
    Check Windows version by typing winver in Run dialog. IE 6.0.2600 typically shipped with Windows XP SP1, and 6.0.2800.1106 with Windows XP SP2.
    Affected if Running the exact IE6 builds 2600 or 2800.1106 on any Windows version.

You are affected if Internet Explorer 6.0 is installed with build version exactly 6.0.2600 or 6.0.2800.1106 and is used for browsing HTTPS sites.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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 data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Upgrade from Internet Explorer 6.0 to a modern browser with proper certificate validation, or ensure certificate revocation checking and warning mechanisms are enabled in newer Internet Explorer versions.

Fix this in Ie Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,200
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2002-2125 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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