1.66.4. RHSA-2011:0176: Moderate java-1.6.0-openjdk security update

Updated java-1.6.0-openjdk packages that fix two security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having moderate security impact. Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) base scores, which give detailed severity ratings, are available for each vulnerability from the CVE links in the References section.

These packages provide the OpenJDK 6 Java Runtime Environment and the OpenJDK 6 Software Development Kit. The javaws command can be used to launch Java Web Start applications.

A public static field declaration allowed untrusted JNLP (Java Network Launching Protocol) applications to read privileged data. A remote attacker could directly or indirectly read the values of restricted system properties, such as "user.name", "user.home", and "java.home", which untrusted applications should not be allowed to read. (CVE-2010-3860)

It was found that JNLPSecurityManager could silently return without throwing an exception when permission was denied. If the javaws command was used to launch a Java Web Start application that relies on this exception being thrown, it could result in that application being run with elevated privileges, allowing it to bypass security manager restrictions and gain access to privileged functionality. (CVE-2010-4351)

Note: The RHSA-2010:0339 java-1.6.0-openjdk update installed javaws by mistake. As part of the fixes for CVE-2010-3860 and CVE-2010-4351, this update removes javaws.

Red Hat would like to thank the TippingPoint Zero Day Initiative project for reporting CVE-2010-4351. The original issue reporter wishes to stay anonymous.

This erratum also upgrades the OpenJDK package to IcedTea6 1.7.7. Refer to the NEWS file, linked to in the References, for further information.

All users of java-1.6.0-openjdk are advised to upgrade to these updated packages, which resolve these issues. All running instances of OpenJDK Java must be restarted for the update to take effect.