A PC communications application is not maintained at the current/latest approved patch or version/upgrade level.

Managing, mitigating, or eliminating a newly discovered vulnerably in a communications application is just as important as managing and mitigating the vulnerabilities of the platform supporting the application. PC communications applications must be patched or upgraded when a security related patch or upgrade is released by the vendor. While many vendors will release a patch to mitigate a vulnerability in an operating system or major application, other vendors will include the fix in a new version of the application. Multiple patches can also be rolled up into an upgrade. It is important to maintain the current patch and upgrade level of any communications applications installed on a PC. The purpose of this is to maintain the highest possible level of security for the application and the communications service(s) it provides.