Actively exploited vulnerability

Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE): security bypass flaw under attack

CVE-2013-0431 · Oracle JRE Sandbox Bypass Vulnerability

Concerns everyone who uses it3.7 lowUsed in ransomware attacks

What is affected

Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) is found on ordinary personal computers and phones, so this is not only a problem for companies. If you use it and have not updated since the fix was released, you are exposed.

Unspecified vulnerability in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) component in Oracle allows remote attackers to bypass the Java security sandbox.

CISA's description

What an attacker can do

This is a security bypass flaw. It lets an attacker slip past a built-in protection, so warnings and checks that normally stop malicious content never appear.

How it is reached
Over the internet or network
Access the attacker needs
No account needed
Does the victim have to do something?
No, works without the victim doing anything

CISA records this vulnerability as known to be used in ransomware campaigns: attackers use it to get in, then encrypt files and demand payment.

What to do

  1. Update Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE) now. Open the update or "About" screen, install whatever is offered and restart the app or device, because the fix is not active until you do.
  2. Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
  3. If your device is too old to receive this update, stop using the affected app for anything sensitive and plan a replacement.

Apply updates per vendor instructions.

Action required by CISA for US federal agencies

How urgent is it

CISA added this vulnerability to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalogue on May 25, 2022, which means there is reliable evidence of attacks in the wild. US federal agencies must fix it by June 15, 2022, a deadline that has already passed. That deadline does not bind anyone else, but it shows how seriously the agency rates it.

The EPSS model estimates a 90% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.8% of all scored vulnerabilities.

Its CVSS severity score is 3.7 out of 10 (low), as recorded in the US National Vulnerability Database.

Technical description

Unspecified vulnerability in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) component in Oracle Java SE 7 through Update 11, and OpenJDK 7, allows user-assisted remote attackers to bypass the Java security sandbox via unspecified vectors related to JMX, aka "Issue 52," a different vulnerability than CVE-2013-1490.

NIST National Vulnerability Database
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