Vulnerability Note VU#392920

Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Router vulnerable to denial of service via Server Routing Protocol (SRP)

Overview

The Research in Motion (RIM) BlackBerry Router contains a vulnerability in the way the router handles Server Routing Protocol (SRP) packets. By sending specially crafted SRP packets to the router, an attacker could cause a denial of service.

I. Description

The BlackBerry Router is a component of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The BlackBerry Router manages connections and routes data between between BES servers, BlackBerry Infrastructure, BlackBerry Handhelds, and other BlackBerry client devices. A vulnerability in the way the BlackBerry Router could allow an attacker using specially crafted SRP packets to cause a denial of service. If the router stops functioning, BlackBerry communication will be disrupted.

The BlackBerry Router uses SRP to make an outbound connection to the BlackBerry Infrastructure on port 3101/tcp. In order to exploit this vulnerability, a remote attacker would need to subvert DNS or otherwise impersonate the BlackBerry Infrastructure or intercept the TCP connection. An attacker with access to the network containing the BlackBerry Router may be able to initiate TCP connections to the router to exploit the vulnerability.

II. Impact

By establishing a TCP conection with a BlackBerry Router, an unauthenticated, remote attacker could cause a denial of service, disrupting communication between BES components and BlackBerry Handheld devices.

III. Solution

RIM Technical Knowledge Center article KB-04758 states that "This is a previously reported issue that has been escalated internally to our development team. No resolution time frame is currently available."

Deploy BlackBerry Routers and BES servers according to best practices, including restricting access to BlackBerry components using firewalls. Static DNS entries for BlackBerry Infrastructure hosts can help mitigate the risks of an attacker subverting DNS to impersonate the BlackBerry Infrastructure. Please see RIM Technical Knowledge Center article KB-04758 for further information.

Systems Affected

Vendor	Status	Date Notified	Date Updated
Research in Motion (RIM)	Vulnerable	30-Dec-2005

References

http://events.ccc.de/congress/2005/fahrplan/events/596.en.html
http://www.blackberry.com/knowledgecenterpublic/livelink.exe/fetch/2000/8021/728075/728850/728215/?nodeid=1167898
http://www.blackberry.com/knowledgecenterpublic/livelink.exe/?func=doc.Fetch&nodeId=739746
http://www.blackberry.com/knowledgecenterpublic/livelink.exe/?func=doc.Fetch&nodeId=817014

Credit

This vulnerability was reported by FX of Phenoelit. Thanks to RIM for information used in this document.

This document was written by Art Manion.

Other Information

Date Public:	2005-12-30
Date First Published:	2005-12-30
Date Last Updated:	2005-12-30
CERT Advisory:
CVE-ID(s):	CAN-2005-2342
NVD-ID(s):	CAN-2005-2342
US-CERT Technical Alerts:
Metric:	5.41
Document Revision:	18

If you have feedback, comments, or additional information about this vulnerability, please send us email.

Produced 2005 by US-CERT, a government organization
Disclaimers and copyright information

Get Adobe Reader