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Blackberry Enterprise ServerApplication · Research In Motion Limited

CVE-2009-0176

HIGH · 9.3 CVSS v2.0 Published 2009-01-20
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 1.0.3 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
Multiple heap-based buffer overflows in the PDF distiller in the Attachment Service in Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) 4.1.3 through 4.1.6, BlackBerry Professional Software 4.1.4, and BlackBerry Unite! before 1.0.3 bundle 28 allow user-assisted remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via (1) a crafted stream in a .pdf file, related to "symWidths"; or (2) a crafted data stream in a .pdf file, related to "bitmaps."

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

Heap-based buffer overflow vulnerabilities in the PDF distiller component of BlackBerry Enterprise Server's Attachment Service allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via specially crafted PDF files containing malformed streams (symWidths) or bitmap data. The vulnerability is user-assisted, requiring a user to open or process a malicious PDF attachment.

MitigationApply vendor patches for affected BlackBerry products (BES 4.1.3-4.1.6, BlackBerry Professional Software 4.1.4, and Unite! before 1.0.3 bundle 28). Consider disabling PDF attachment processing in the Attachment Service as a temporary workaround until patching is complete.

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
Blackberry Enterprise ServerApplication
Affected:= 4.1.3= 4.1.4= 4.1.5= 4.1.6
Blackberry Professional SoftwareApplication
Affected:= 4.1.4
Blackberry UniteApplication
Affected:<= 1.0.3= 1.0= 1.0.1= 1.0.2

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
M
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Complete
Integrity
Complete
Availability
Complete

AV:N/AC:M/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 BlackBerry server product
    Locate the installed BlackBerry Enterprise Server, BlackBerry Professional Software, or BlackBerry Unite installation directory and determine which product is present. Check common installation paths or use system inventory tools.
    Affected if The product is BES 4.1.3-4.1.6, BlackBerry Professional Software 4.1.4, or BlackBerry Unite version 1.0 through 1.0.3 (including versions <=1.0.3).
  2. Determine the installed version
    Check the product version by examining the installed software properties, About screen, or version information file within the BlackBerry installation directory.
    Affected if The version matches 4.1.3, 4.1.4, 4.1.5, or 4.1.6 for BES; 4.1.4 for BlackBerry Professional Software; or 1.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, or 1.0.3 for BlackBerry Unite.
  3. Verify Attachment Service is enabled
    Check the BlackBerry Attachment Service configuration or service status. This service handles processing of attachments including PDFs.
    Affected if The Attachment Service is running and processing attachments.
  4. Confirm PDF attachment processing is active
    Review the Attachment Service settings to determine if PDF file processing is enabled or allowed for incoming attachments.
    Affected if PDF file types are set to be processed by the Attachment Service.

The environment is affected if a vulnerable BlackBerry product version (BES 4.1.3-4.1.6, Professional Software 4.1.4, or Unite 1.0-1.0.3) is installed with the Attachment Service running and PDF processing enabled, allowing users to open malicious PDF attachments.

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
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 1.0.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor patches for affected BlackBerry products (BES 4.1.3-4.1.6, BlackBerry Professional Software 4.1.4, and Unite! before 1.0.3 bundle 28). Consider disabling PDF attachment processing in the Attachment Service as a temporary workaround until patching is complete.

Fix this in Blackberry Enterprise Server Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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Scan for this in your stack

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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-2009-0176 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • 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