Actively exploited vulnerability
Oracle Java Runtime Environment (JRE): vulnerability flaw under attack
CVE-2013-2423 · Oracle JRE Unspecified Vulnerability
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 hotspot for Java Runtime Environment (JRE) allows remote attackers to affect integrity.
What an attacker can do
This is a vulnerability flaw. It lets an attacker misuse the product in a way its maker did not intend. CISA lists it because attackers are confirmed to be using it against real systems.
- 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
What to do
- 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.
- Turn on automatic updates so the next fix arrives without you having to look for it.
- 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.
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 85% probability that this flaw will be exploited somewhere in the next 30 days. That is higher than 99.7% 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 Update 17 and earlier, and OpenJDK 7, allows remote attackers to affect integrity via unknown vectors related to HotSpot. NOTE: the previous information is from the April 2013 CPU. Oracle has not commented on claims from the original researcher that this vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass permission checks by the MethodHandles method and modify arbitrary public final fields using reflection and type confusion, as demonstrated using integer and double fields to disable the security manager.