1.66.2. RHSA-2011:0281: Important java-1.6.0-openjdk security update

Updated java-1.6.0-openjdk packages that fix several security issues are now available for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 and 6.

The Red Hat Security Response Team has rated this update as having important 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.

A flaw was found in the Swing library. Forged TimerEvents could be used to bypass SecurityManager checks, allowing access to otherwise blocked files and directories. (CVE-2010-4465)

A flaw was found in the HotSpot component in OpenJDK. Certain bytecode instructions confused the memory management within the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), which could lead to heap corruption. (CVE-2010-4469)

A flaw was found in the way JAXP (Java API for XML Processing) components were handled, allowing them to be manipulated by untrusted applets. This could be used to elevate privileges and bypass secure XML processing restrictions. (CVE-2010-4470)

It was found that untrusted applets could create and place cache entries in the name resolution cache. This could allow an attacker targeted manipulation over name resolution until the OpenJDK VM is restarted. (CVE-2010-4448)

It was found that the Java launcher provided by OpenJDK did not check the LD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable for insecure empty path elements. A local attacker able to trick a user into running the Java launcher while working from an attacker-writable directory could use this flaw to load an untrusted library, subverting the Java security model. (CVE-2010-4450)

A flaw was found in the XML Digital Signature component in OpenJDK. Untrusted code could use this flaw to replace the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) XML Digital Signature Transform or C14N algorithm implementations to intercept digital signature operations. (CVE-2010-4472)

Note: All of the above flaws can only be remotely triggered in OpenJDK by calling the "appletviewer" application.

This update also provides one defense in depth patch. (BZ#676019)

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.