BlackBerry fixes critical Enterprise Server flaw

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RIM has issued a fix for a serious security flaw in various versions of its BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES).

The BlackBerry manufacturer has not only issued patches for all affected versions, but offered a workaround for any administrators who were unable to download the fixes for whatever reason.

The buffer overflow vulnerability could cause the service to crash or allow for remote code execution.

“The issue relates to a known vulnerability in the PDF distiller component of the BlackBerry Attachment Service that affects how the BlackBerry Attachment Service processes PDF files,” RIM noted in an advisory.

“Successful exploitation of this vulnerability requires a malicious individual to persuade a BlackBerry smartphone user to open a specially-crafted PDF file on a BlackBerry smartphone that is associated with a user account on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server.”

The vulnerability was given a score of 9.3 out of 10 on the Common Vulnerability Scoring System - an industry open standard designed to show how severe a flaw is.

BES is the software organisations use to manage their BlackBerry deployments. It lets businesses coordinate operations such as messaging and calendar entries.

The flaw cannot affect BlackBerry devices directly, RIM said.

The affected software versions include:

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express version 5.0.1 and 5.0.2 for Microsoft Exchange

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express version 5.0.2 for IBM Lotus Domino

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server versions 4.1.3 through 5.0.2 for Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino

• BlackBerry Enterprise Server versions 4.1.3 through 5.0.1 for Novell GroupWise

• BlackBerry Professional Software version 4.1.4 for Microsoft Exchange and IBM Lotus Domino

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