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CVE Record

CVE-2003-5002: ISS BlackICE PC Protection Update cleartext transmission

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

LowCVSS 3.7Not KEV-listedUpdated
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Glexia's TakeAutomated analysislow

Security readout for executives and security teams

Plain-English summary

This is a low-severity issue in the update mechanism of ISS BlackICE PC Protection. Update data is transmitted in cleartext, which can expose limited information to a network observer. The product is no longer supported, so risk management should focus on finding and retiring remaining installations.

Executive priority

Treat as a low-priority legacy hygiene issue unless BlackICE remains on sensitive systems. The business concern is unsupported security software using cleartext updates, not a currently evidenced widespread exploitation event.

Technical view

CVE-2003-5002 describes CWE-319 cleartext transmission in the BlackICE PC Protection Update Handler. CVSS 3.1 is 3.7 low: network reachable, high attack complexity, no privileges or user interaction, low confidentiality impact, and no integrity or availability impact.

Likely exposure

Exposure is likely limited to legacy endpoints still running ISS BlackICE PC Protection. The source bundle does not identify supported versions, CPEs, platforms, or specific deployment conditions.

Exploitation context

The provided sources do not report active exploitation, and the CVE is not marked KEV. The described risk is network observation of cleartext update data, with high attack complexity and limited confidentiality impact.

Researcher notes

Evidence is sparse. Sources identify the affected product and Update Handler behavior but do not provide version ranges, packets, patch details, or exploit observations. Avoid asserting more than cleartext transmission and unsupported-product exposure.

Mitigation direction

  • Inventory endpoints for ISS BlackICE PC Protection installations.
  • Retire or replace unsupported BlackICE PC Protection where found.
  • Check maintainer or archival vendor guidance for any official migration direction.
  • Limit exposure of legacy update traffic on untrusted networks until retirement.

Validation and detection

  • Confirm whether BlackICE PC Protection exists in software inventory.
  • Review endpoint evidence for the Update Handler component.
  • Check whether any legacy hosts still contact update infrastructure.
  • Document unsupported status and replacement plan for each finding.
Prepared
Confidence
medium
Sources
3

Public sources used

Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.

Potential ATT&CK relevance

Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context

These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.

ATT&CK lookup starting points

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cwe · low confidence lookup

CWE-319: Exact CWE lookup

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cve · low confidence lookup

CVE-2003-5002 mapping review

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Vulnerability profileCVE Program record
Severity
Low
CVSS
3.7 (3.1)
Known Exploited
No
Published

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Official CVE source material

CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5

These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.

1CVSS vectors
0Timeline events
0ADP providers
2Source links

CVSS vector scores

1 official score

We collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.

ScoreVersionSeverityVectorExploitImpactSource
3.7CVSS 3.1LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N2.21.4Primary CVE score

Vulnerability scoring details

Base CVSS 3.1 score

3.7Low
CVSS 3.1 vector shape for CVE-2003-5002Attack VectorAttack ComplexityPrivileges RequiredUser InteractionScopeConfidentiality ImpactIntegrity ImpactAvailability Impact

Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N

Attack Vector
NetworkAdjacentLocalPhysical
Attack Complexity
LowHigh
Privileges Required
NoneLowHigh
User Interaction
NoneRequired
Scope
ChangedUnchanged
Confidentiality Impact
HighLowNone
Integrity Impact
HighLowNone
Availability Impact
HighLowNone

Source materials

Affected products

Products and packages named in the record

VendorProductVersion / packageStatus
ISSBlackICE PC Protectionn/aListed
Weakness

CWE details

CWE-319

CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.