Security Bulletin: Personal Communications WorkStation file Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2012-0201)

Security Bulletin

Summary

A buffer overflow vulnerability in the handling of WorkStation files (.ws) by IBM Personal Communications could allow a remote attacker to cause a denial of service (application crash) or potentially execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of IBM Personal Communications.

Vulnerability Details

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CVE ID: CVE-2012-0201

Description: IBM Personal Communications is susceptible to a buffer overflow vulnerability when handling certain specially-crafted WorkStation files (.ws). If an attacker could persuade a potential victim running a vulnerable installation of the application to open a malicious .ws file, the attacker could potentially crash the application or execute arbitrary code on the client system.

CVSS Base Score: 9.3
CVSS Temporal Score: See https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/73127 for the current score
CVSS Environmental Score*: Undefined
CVSS String: (AV:N/AC:M/Au:N/C:C/I:C/A:C)

Affected Products and Versions

IBM Personal Communications 5.9.0 to 5.9.7 and 6.0.0 to 6.0.3 on all supported platforms.

Remediation/Fixes

Upgrade to Personal Communications 6.0.4 or later.
OR
Apply the fix associated with APAR IC81539.

Workarounds and Mitigations

The Personal Communications workstation profiles should NOT be modified by users; however, if for any reason they do need to be modified, then it should only be done by an administrator.

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References

Complete CVSS v2 Guide
On-line Calculator v2

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Acknowledgement

None

Change History

* 28 February 2012 - Original copy published

*The CVSS Environment Score is customer environment specific and will ultimately impact the Overall CVSS Score. Customers can evaluate the impact of this vulnerability in their environments by accessing the links in the Reference section of this Security Bulletin.

Disclaimer

Review the IBM security bulletin disclaimer and definitions regarding your responsibilities for assessing potential impact of security vulnerabilities to your environment.

Internal Use Only

Removed this Acknowledgement as the link is broken.

The vulnerability was reported to IBM by Rocco Calvi of http://www.stratsec.net/Research/Advisories">stratsec.

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Tips

Security Bulletin: Personal Communications WorkStation file Buffer Overflow Vulnerability (CVE-2012-0201)