CVE-2021-32021
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 · uneditedA denial of service vulnerability in the message broker of BlackBerry Protect for Windows version(s) versions 1574 and earlier could allow an attacker to potentially execute code in the context of a BlackBerry Cylance service that has admin rights on the 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 · moderate confidenceA denial of service vulnerability exists in the message broker component of BlackBerry Protect for Windows versions 1574 and earlier. The vulnerability could allow an attacker to potentially execute code in the context of a BlackBerry Cylance service that runs with administrative privileges on the system.
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<= 1574CVSS 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
- Privileges
- Low
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Unchanged
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
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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Confirm BlackBerry Protect for Windows is installedCheck installed programs via Windows Settings > Apps & Features, or run: Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Product | Where-Object {$_.Name -like '*BlackBerry Protect*'}Affected if BlackBerry Protect for Windows appears in the installed programs list
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Identify the installed version of BlackBerry ProtectLocate the main executable (commonly in Program Files or Program Files (x86)\BlackBerry\Protect) and check its file version, or query the registry under HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall for the DisplayVersion entryAffected if The displayed version number is 1574 or lower (e.g., 1574, 1573, 1500, etc.)
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Verify the message broker component is presentCheck for the presence of the message broker service or executable within the BlackBerry Protect installation directory, typically found in the installation folder under a bin or service subfolderAffected if The message broker component exists and the application version is 1574 or earlier
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Confirm the Cylance service runs with elevated privilegesOpen Services.msc and locate BlackBerry Cylance-related services, then check the Log On As account (should show as running under an administrative/local system account)Affected if A BlackBerry Cylance service is configured to run with administrative or SYSTEM privileges and the Protect version is 1574 or earlier
If BlackBerry Protect for Windows version 1574 or earlier is installed and the Cylance service runs with administrative privileges, the environment is affected by this vulnerability.
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 dataUpgrade BlackBerry Protect for Windows to a version newer than 1574 following vendor guidance.
- Consultation2.0 h
- Implementation4.0 h
- Testing8.0 h
- Review / QA4.0 h
An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $4,864.
Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2021-32021 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
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-2021-32021 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
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data