Chris Wade released the first version of the Dingleberry tool last month to jailbreak the PlayBook tablet, which is RIM’s attempt to compete with iPad. Wade proclaimed on Twitter, “I can confirm the playbook has been rooted.”
In response, RIM issued a statement, saying that it was "aware of a claim made on Twitter by security researchers working together that suggests the ability to ‘jailbreak’ a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet….RIM is currently investigating this claim and has been in contact with one of the security researchers to discuss it.”
Apparently RIM’s investigation confirmed the vulnerability because it issued a security advisory and updated the PlayBook operating system this week to plug the security hole exploited by the Dingleberry.
But Wade did not wait long to find a way around the “fix.” On the same day that RIM issued the patch, Wade released a new version of the Dingleberry that uses a different exploit to jailbreak PlayBook.
RIM has pitched the PlayBook as a more secure tablet than the iPad. RIM has even explained its lack of functionality for its superior security.
Nader Heinen, a security advisor to Blackberry’s security group, told the Counter Terror Expo in London in April that the PlayBook doesn’t have on-tablet email because of its security measures.
But the Dingleberry is not the first time that security problems with the PlayBook have been revealed. The NCC Group published research in August, which identified a number of security flaws in the PlayBook: unintended access to the file system, security flaws in relation to a third party web server, and a flaw in the device's HDMI video interface.