dbcve.org
Iss Blackice Pc ProtectionApplication · Ibm

CVE-2003-5002

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-28
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
62/100
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
A vulnerability was found in ISS BlackICE PC Protection. It has been declared as problematic. Affected by this vulnerability is the component Update Handler which allows cleartext transmission of data. NOTE: This vulnerability only affects products that are no longer supported by the maintainer

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 confidence

ISS BlackICE PC Protection contains a cleartext transmission vulnerability in its Update Handler component. This allows data transmitted during the update process to be intercepted in cleartext, potentially exposing update content to network eavesdropping. The vulnerability only affects the legacy BlackICE product which is no longer supported.

MitigationSince the product is no longer supported by the vendor, no official patch is available. Organizations should migrate to a currently-supported endpoint protection solution. As an interim compensating control, network segmentation and firewall rules can restrict update traffic to trusted sources.

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
Iss Blackice Pc ProtectionApplication
Affected:all versions

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
Low
Integrity
None
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/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 checks

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

  1. Verify if BlackICE PC Protection is installed
    Check for the presence of BlackICE in the system program directories (typically C:\Program Files\ISS or C:\Program Files (x86)\ISS), or search for 'BlackICE' in the Windows registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall
    Affected if If BlackICE PC Protection is found installed on the system, it is vulnerable since all versions are affected by the cleartext update transmission flaw
  2. Locate the BlackICE Update Handler component
    Search for update-related executable files such as icUpdate.exe, icupdate.exe, or similar update client binaries in the BlackICE installation directory
    Affected if If update handler binaries are present, the vulnerable cleartext transmission during updates can occur
  3. Confirm update functionality is enabled
    Examine the BlackICE configuration files (typically with .ini or .cfg extensions in the installation folder) for settings related to 'AutoUpdate', 'Update', or 'Server' that indicate the update feature is active
    Affected if If the update feature is configured as enabled or auto-update is turned on, the system transmits update data in cleartext and is vulnerable to network eavesdropping

A system is affected if IBM ISS BlackICE PC Protection is installed with the update handler component enabled, as all versions of this legacy product contain the cleartext transmission vulnerability in their update process.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Since the product is no longer supported by the vendor, no official patch is available. Organizations should migrate to a currently-supported endpoint protection solution. As an interim compensating control, network segmentation and firewall rules can restrict update traffic to trusted sources.

Recommended fix High confidence
  1. 1. Discontinue use of ISS BlackICE PC Protection - this product is end-of-life and no longer supported by the vendor
  2. 2. Replace with a currently supported endpoint protection solution from an active vendor
  3. 3. Conduct a security assessment of the environment to ensure no compromise occurred during use of the vulnerable product

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Iss Blackice Pc Protection 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-2003-5002 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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