CVE-2009-3944
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 · uneditedResearch In Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Browser on the BlackBerry 8800 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (application hang) via a JavaScript loop that configures the home page by using the setHomePage method and a DHTML behavior property.
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 confidenceThe BlackBerry Browser on the 8800 model contains a denial of service vulnerability where a malicious JavaScript loop utilizing the setHomePage method in combination with a DHTML behavior property causes the browser application to hang indefinitely.
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 dataall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Verify device modelCheck if the device is a BlackBerry 8800 by going to Settings > About or checking the device hardware labelAffected if The device is a BlackBerry 8800 model
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Confirm browser typeIdentify that the browser in use is the native BlackBerry Browser (not a third-party browser)Affected if The native BlackBerry Browser is being used
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Check JavaScript enablementNavigate to Browser Options > Enable JavaScript (or similar path in Browser Settings) and verify whether JavaScript is turned onAffected if JavaScript is enabled in the BlackBerry Browser settings - this is required for the exploit to trigger
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Verify DHTML behavior supportCheck if DHTML behaviors are supported in the browser settings; the vulnerability specifically uses DHTML behavior properties in combination with setHomePageAffected if DHTML behavior support is present and JavaScript is enabled, making the specific attack vector possible
A user is affected if they are running the BlackBerry Browser on a BlackBerry 8800 device with JavaScript enabled, as this combination allows the malicious setHomePage loop with DHTML behavior to hang the browser indefinitely.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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 dataUsers should avoid visiting untrusted websites and consider disabling JavaScript in the BlackBerry Browser settings. Given the age of the affected device (2009 BlackBerry 8800), replacement with a supported device is the most effective long-term mitigation.
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- Testing1.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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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 sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2009-3944 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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