Security Vulnerability in JDK/JRE Secure Static Versioning

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Security Vulnerability in JDK/JRE Secure Static Versioning

1. Impact

Secure Static Versioning was introduced in JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 6. With this feature, after the installation of a JRE 5.0 Update 6 or later release, applets are not allowed to run on an older release of the JRE. Due to a defect in the implementation, if an older release is subsequently installed, applets may run on that older release.

Sun acknowledges with thanks, John Heasman of NGSSoftware for bringing this issue to our attention.

2. Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases on Windows VISTA:

• JDK and JRE 6 Update 6 and earlier
• JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 6 through 15

Note: This issue does not occur on the above releases on other Windows platforms such as Windows XP.

To determine the default version of the JRE that Internet Explorer uses:

1. Click "Tools" in the Menu Bar at the top of the browser
2. Select "Sun Java Console"
3. The first two lines in the console displays the version of Java Plug-in and JRE that Internet Explorer uses

 
To determine the default version of the JRE that Mozilla or Firefox browsers use,visit the URL "about:plugins".

The browser will display a page called "Installed plug-ins" which lists the version of the Java Plug-in as in the following example:


The above example indicates the version of the JRE that the browser uses is 1.5.0_11.

3. Symptoms

There are no predictable symptoms that would indicate that the above issue has been exploited.

4. Workaround

There is no workaround for this issue. Please see the Resolution section below.

5. Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases on Windows VISTA:

• JDK and JRE 6 Update 7 or later
• JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 16 or later
  

JDK and JRE 6 Update 7 is available for download at the following links:



JRE 6 updates are available through the Java Update tool for Microsoft Windows users.

JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 16 is available for download at the following link:


Note: It is recommended that the old affected versions be removed from your system. To remove old affected versions on the Windows platform, please see:

For more information on Security Sun Alerts, see Technical Instruction ID 213557.

This Sun Alert notification is being provided to you on an "AS IS" basis. This Sun Alert notification may contain information provided by third parties. The issues described in this Sun Alert notification may or may not impact your system(s). Sun makes no representations, warranties, or guarantees as to the information contained herein. ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE HEREBY DISCLAIMED. BY ACCESSING THIS DOCUMENT YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT SUN SHALL IN NO EVENT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES THAT ARISE OUT OF YOUR USE OR FAILURE TO USE THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN. This Sun Alert notification contains Sun proprietary and confidential information. It is being provided to you pursuant to the provisions of your agreement to purchase services from Sun, or, if you do not have such an agreement, the Sun.com Terms of Use. This Sun Alert notification may only be used for the purposes contemplated by these agreements.

Copyright 2000-2008 Sun Microsystems, Inc., 4150 Network Circle, Santa Clara, CA 95054 U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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