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Blackice Agent ServerApplication · Iss

CVE-2005-2711

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v2.0 Published 2005-12-31
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
77/100
Remediation priority · High
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
ISS BlackIce 3.6, as used in multiple products including BlackICE PC Protection, Server Protection, Agent for Server, and RealSecure Desktop 3.6 and 7.0, does not drop privileges before launching help from the "More Info" button in the "Application Protection" dialog, which allows local users to execute arbitrary programs as SYSTEM.

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

ISS BlackICE 3.6 security software fails to drop elevated privileges before launching the help system from the 'More Info' button in the Application Protection dialog. This allows a local authenticated user to execute arbitrary code with SYSTEM-level privileges by exploiting the trusted help launcher.

MitigationThis is a discontinued IBM ISS product from 2005 with no available patch. The only effective remediation is migration to a supported modern endpoint protection platform that does not have privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

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
Blackice Agent ServerApplication
Affected:all versions
Blackice Pc ProtectionApplication
Affected:= 3.6= 3.6cpu
Blackice Server ProtectionApplication
Affected:all versions
Realsecure DesktopApplication
Affected:= 3.6= 7.0

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
Local
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:L/AC:L/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C

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 installed ISS BlackICE products
    Check system for installed IBM ISS BlackICE or RealSecure security software by looking for known product components or services in Add/Remove Programs, program directories, or running services. Common process names include blackice.exe, isssvc.exe, or similar ISS-related executables.
    Affected if Any of the following products are installed: BlackICE Agent Server, BlackICE PC Protection (= 3.6 or 3.6cpu), BlackICE Server Protection, or RealSecure Desktop (= 3.6 or 7.0)
  2. Determine installed product version
    Locate the installed security software and check its version information through the program's UI, executable properties, or installation metadata.
    Affected if Version is 3.6, 3.6cpu, or 7.0 for the PC Protection or RealSecure Desktop products respectively, or any version for Agent Server and Server Protection variants.
  3. Verify Application Protection feature presence
    Access the Application Protection dialog within the BlackICE/RealSecure interface. This is typically found in the security software's main console under application control or protection settings.
    Affected if The Application Protection dialog interface is present and accessible to authenticated users.
  4. Confirm help launcher executes with elevated privileges
    Launch the help system by clicking the 'More Info' button in the Application Protection dialog, then observe the process privileges using task manager or process analysis tools to verify if it runs as SYSTEM or another elevated account.
    Affected if The help launcher (hh.exe or related help executable) spawned from the 'More Info' button runs with SYSTEM-level privileges rather than user-level privileges.

A user is affected if they have any version of the listed ISS BlackICE or RealSecure products installed with the Application Protection feature accessible, and the help launcher from the 'More Info' button runs with SYSTEM privileges instead of dropped user privileges.

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

This is a discontinued IBM ISS product from 2005 with no available patch. The only effective remediation is migration to a supported modern endpoint protection platform that does not have privilege escalation vulnerabilities.

Fix this in Blackice Agent Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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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-2005-2711 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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What belongs here
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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