Advisory Details

October 26th, 2011

Oracle Java IIOP Deserialization Type Confusion Remote Code Execution Vulnerability

ZDI-11-306
ZDI-CAN-1253

CVE ID CVE-2011-3521
CVSS SCORE 9.0, AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:C
AFFECTED VENDORS Oracle
AFFECTED PRODUCTS Java Runtime
VULNERABILITY DETAILS


This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on vulnerable installations of Oracle Java. User interaction is required to exploit this vulnerability in that the target must visit a malicious page or open a malicious file.

The specific flaw exists within the way Java handles IIOP deserialization. Due to insufficient type checking it is possible to trick java into allowing access to otherwise protected and private fields in built-in objects. This could be used, for example, to disable to security manager normally in place for applets. This leads to remote code execution under the context of the current user.

ADDITIONAL DETAILS Oracle has issued an update to correct this vulnerability. More details can be found at:
http://www.oracle.com/technetwork/topics/security/javacpuoct2011-443431.html
DISCLOSURE TIMELINE
  • 2011-05-12 - Vulnerability reported to vendor
  • 2011-10-26 - Coordinated public release of advisory
CREDIT Sami Koivu
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