SafeUM
Home Blog Services Download Help About Recharge

Axarhöfði 14, 110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015
SafeUM
Blog
Services
Download
Help
About
Recharge
Menu
Archive
TOP Security!
14 Mar 2016

Two-year-old Java flaw re-emerges due to broken patch

A patch released by Oracle in 2013 can be easily bypassed to attack the latest Java versions, security researchers said.

A patch for a critical Java flaw released by Oracle in 2013 is ineffective and can be easily bypassed, security researchers warn. This makes the vulnerability exploitable again, paving the way for attacks against PCs and servers running the latest versions of Java.

The flaw, tracked as CVE-2013-5838 in the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) database, was rated by Oracle 9.3 out of 10 using the Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS). It can be exploited remotely, without authentication, to completely compromise a system’s confidentiality, integrity and availability. According to researchers from Polish security firm Security Explorations who originally reported the flaw to Oracle, attackers can exploit it to escape from the Java security sandbox. Under normal conditions, the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) executes Java code inside a virtual machine that is subject to security restrictions.

On Thursday, Security Explorations revealed that the Oracle patch for the vulnerability is broken. The fix can be trivially bypassed by making a four-character change to the proof-of-concept exploit code released in 2013, Security Explorations CEO Adam Gowdiak wrote in a message sent to the Full Disclosure security mailing list.

Gowdiak’s company published a new technical report that explains how the bypass works in more detail. The company’s researchers claim that their new exploit was successfully tested on the latest available versions of Java: Java SE 7 Update 97, Java SE 8 Update 74 and Java SE 9 Early Access Build 108.

In its original advisory in October 2013, Oracle noted that CVE-2013-5838 only affects client deployments of Java and can be exploited through “sandboxed Java Web Start applications and sandboxed Java applets.” According to Security Explorations, this is incorrect. “We verified that it could be successfully exploited in a server environment as well as in Google App Engine for Java,” Gowdiak said in the Full Disclosure message.

On the client side, Java’s default security level—which allows only signed Java applets to run—and its click-to-play behavior can act as mitigating factors. These security restrictions can prevent automated silent attacks. In order to exploit the vulnerability on an up-to-date Java installation, attackers would need to find a separate flaw that allows them to bypass the security prompts or to convince users to approve the execution of their malicious applet. The latter route is more likely.

Security Explorations has not notified Oracle about the CVE-2013-5838 bypass before disclosing it. According to Gowdiak the company’s new policy is to inform the public immediately when broken fixes are found for vulnerabilities that the company has already reported to vendors.

“We do not tolerate broken fixes any more,” he said. It’s not clear whether Oracle will push out an emergency Java update just to patch this vulnerability, or if it will wait until the next quarterly Critical Patch Update, which is scheduled for April 19.

Tags:
Java information leaks
Source:
PCWorld
1942
Other NEWS
3 Jul 2020 safeum news imgage An encrypted messaging service has been infiltrated by police
4 May 2020 safeum news imgage Two-Factor Authentication ​What Is It and Why You Should Use It
12 Dec 2019 safeum news imgage Encryption is under threat - this is how it affects you
4 Nov 2019 safeum news imgage Should Big Decisions Be Based on Data or Your Intuition?
7 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage VPNFilter malware infecting 500,000 devices is worse than we thought
4 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Hackers target Booking.com in criminal bid to steal hundreds of thousands from customers
1 Jun 2018 safeum news imgage Operator of World's Top Internet Hub Sues German Spy Agency
30 May 2018 safeum news imgage US says North Korea behind malware attacks
29 May 2018 safeum news imgage Facebook and Google targeted as first GDPR complaints filed
25 May 2018 safeum news imgage A new reason to not buy these cheap Android devices
24 May 2018 safeum news imgage Flaws in smart pet devices, apps could come back to bite owners
23 May 2018 safeum news imgage Google sued for 'clandestine tracking' of 4.4m UK iPhone users' browsing data
21 May 2018 safeum news imgage LocationSmart reportedly leaked phone location data onto the web
18 May 2018 safeum news imgage The SEC created its own scammy ICO to teach investors a lesson
17 May 2018 safeum news imgage Thieves suck millions out of Mexican banks in transfer heist
All news
SafeUM
Confidential Terms of Use Our technologies Company
Follow us
Download
SafeUM © Safe Universal Messenger

Axarhöfði 14,
110 Reykjavik, Iceland

Iceland - 2015