GLSA 200411-38: Sun and Blackdown Java: Applet privilege escalation

http://security.gentoo.org/

Severity:	normal
Title:	Sun and Blackdown Java: Applet privilege escalation
Date:	11/29/2004
Bugs:	#72172, #72221
ID:	200411-38

Synopsis

The Java plug-in security in Sun and Blackdown Java environments can be bypassed to access arbitrary packages, allowing untrusted Java applets to perform unrestricted actions on the host system.

Background

Sun and Blackdown both provide implementations of Java Development Kits (JDK) and Java Runtime Environments (JRE). All these implementations provide a Java plug-in that can be used to execute Java applets in a restricted environment for web browsers.

Affected packages

Package	Vulnerable	Unaffected	Architecture(s)
dev-java/sun-jdk	< 1.4.2.06	>= 1.4.2.06	x86, amd64
dev-java/sun-jre-bin	< 1.4.2.06	>= 1.4.2.06	x86, amd64
dev-java/blackdown-jdk	< 1.4.2.01	>= 1.4.2.01	x86, amd64
dev-java/blackdown-jre	< 1.4.2.01	>= 1.4.2.01	x86, amd64

Description

All Java plug-ins are subject to a vulnerability allowing unrestricted Java package access.

Impact

A remote attacker could embed a malicious Java applet in a web page and entice a victim to view it. This applet can then bypass security restrictions and execute any command or access any file with the rights of the user running the web browser.

Workaround

As a workaround you could disable Java applets on your web browser.

Resolution

All Sun JDK users should upgrade to the latest version:

    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-java/sun-jdk-1.4.2.06"

All Sun JRE users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-java/sun-jre-bin-1.4.2.06"

All Blackdown JDK users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-java/blackdown-jdk-1.4.2.01"

All Blackdown JRE users should upgrade to the latest version:


    # emerge --sync
    # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=dev-java/blackdown-jre-1.4.2.01"

Note: You should unmerge all vulnerable versions to be fully protected.

References

Availability

This GLSA and any updates to it are available for viewing at the Gentoo Security Website: http://security.gentoo.org/glsa/glsa-200411-38.xml

Concerns?

Security is a primary focus of Gentoo Linux and ensuring the confidentiality and security of our users machines is of utmost importance to us. Any security concerns should be addressed to security@gentoo.org or alternatively, you may file a bug at https://bugs.gentoo.org.