CVE-2003-1390
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 · uneditedRTS CryptoBuddy 1.2 and earlier stores bytes 53 through 55 of a 55-byte passphrase in plaintext, which makes it easier for local users to guess the passphrase.
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 · moderate confidenceRTS CryptoBuddy 1.2 and earlier stores bytes 53 through 55 (the final 3 bytes) of a 55-byte passphrase in plaintext, allowing local users to potentially recover or guess the remaining passphrase more easily.
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= 1.0= 1.2CVSS 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
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
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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Locate CryptoBuddy installationSearch for files named 'cryptobuddy', 'crypto', or 'rc4' in common program directories (C:\Program Files, C:\Program Files (x86), or Unix equivalents like /usr/local/bin, /opt). Check for any application with 'CryptoBuddy' or 'RTS' in the name.Affected if CryptoBuddy version 1.0 or 1.2 is found installed on the system
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Determine installed versionRun the application with a version flag (common flags: -v, --version, /v) or right-click the executable and select Properties > Details to view the File Version. Check any registry keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Research Triangle Software or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Research Triangle Software if on Windows.Affected if The reported version is 1.0, 1.2, or any version number lower than 1.2
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Identify passphrase storage mechanismLocate configuration files, data files, or registry entries where the application stores passphrase data. Common locations include: user home directory (e.g., .cryptobuddy, AppData\Roaming\CryptoBuddy), program data folder, or the application directory itself. Look for files with extensions like .dat, .cfg, .ini, or no extension.Affected if A stored passphrase file or registry entry exists and is accessible to local users
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Inspect stored passphrase bytesOpen the passphrase storage file/registry entry using a hex editor or binary viewer. Examine bytes 53-55 (zero-indexed: bytes 52-54) of the stored passphrase data. These should appear as plaintext ASCII characters rather than encrypted binary data.Affected if Bytes 53-55 of the stored passphrase are readable as plaintext characters (ASCII range 0x20-0x7E) while the rest may appear encrypted
If CryptoBuddy version 1.0 or 1.2 is installed AND a passphrase has been stored by the user, AND bytes 53-55 of that stored passphrase are readable as plaintext characters, then the environment is affected by CVE-2003-1390.
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 dataUpgrade to a version later than 1.2 that does not store any portion of the passphrase in plaintext, or implement proper encryption for the entire passphrase storage mechanism.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2003-1390 — 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-2003-1390 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