Latest Java still vulnerable

According to Adam Gowdiak of Security Explorations, many of the Java vulnerabilities he reported to Oracle in recent months were fixed in the April update (Java 7, Update 21).

However, several of the reported vulnerabilities remain, and Oracle has confirmed that they are working on fixes for those issues.

On April 22, Mr. Gowdiak reported another new Java vulnerability to Oracle:

The new flaw was verified to affect all versions of Java SE 7 (including the recently released 1.7.0_21-b11). It can be used to achieve a complete Java security sandbox bypass on a target system. Successful exploitation in a web browser scenario requires proper user interaction (a user needs to accept the risk of executing a potentially malicious Java application when a security warning window is displayed).

Current Java status: vulnerable.

Details are on the Security Explorations web site (scroll to the end).

Update 2013Apr27: Ars Technica reports that exploits for the just-patched Java vulnerabilities are showing up in attack kits and being seen in the wild. If you use Java, patch it ASAP!

About jrivett

Jeff Rivett has worked with and written about computers since the early 1980s. His first computer was an Apple II+, built by his father and heavily customized. Jeff's writing appeared in Computist Magazine in the 1980s, and he created and sold a game utility (Ultimaker 2, reviewed in the December 1983 Washington Apple Pi Journal) to international markets during the same period. Proceeds from writing, software sales, and contract programming gigs paid his way through university, earning him a Bachelor of Science (Computer Science) degree at UWO. Jeff went on to work as a programmer, sysadmin, and manager in various industries. There's more on the About page, and on the Jeff Rivett Consulting site.

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