CVE-2006-6736 in Java JRE
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Sun Java Development Kit (JDK) and Java Runtime Environment (JRE) 5.0 Update 6 and earlier, Java System Development Kit (SDK) and JRE 1.4.2_12 and earlier 1.4.x versions, and SDK and JRE 1.3.1_18 and earlier allows attackers to use untrusted applets to "access data in other applets," aka "The second issue."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 04/28/2019
This vulnerability represents a critical security flaw in sun java development kit and java runtime environment versions prior to specific update releases. The issue affects multiple java versions including jdk 5.0 update 6 and earlier, java system development kit and jre 1.4.2_12 and earlier 1.4.x versions, as well as sdk and jre 1.3.1_18 and earlier versions. The vulnerability stems from inadequate security boundaries within the java sandbox model that governs applet execution in web browsers and other java applications. Attackers can exploit this weakness by crafting malicious untrusted applets that can bypass normal security restrictions and access data from other applets running within the same java virtual machine environment.
The technical flaw manifests as a failure in java's security manager implementation to properly enforce data isolation between applets. When untrusted applets execute within the java runtime environment, they can leverage this vulnerability to access memory spaces, variables, and data structures belonging to other applets that should normally be protected by the security sandbox. This cross-applet data access capability represents a fundamental breakdown in java's security architecture and allows for information leakage attacks that could expose sensitive data processed by legitimate applications. The vulnerability specifically impacts the java security model's ability to maintain proper separation between trusted and untrusted code execution contexts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability is significant for organizations deploying java-based applications and applets in web environments. Attackers could potentially extract confidential information from web applications that rely on java applets for functionality, including user session data, authentication tokens, or proprietary application data. This vulnerability particularly affects web applications that utilize multiple applets within the same browser session, as the exploitation could allow attackers to aggregate information from different applet contexts. The vulnerability's presence in multiple java versions from 1.3.1 through 1.4.2 and 5.0 releases means that organizations with legacy java installations face substantial risk exposure.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected java versions to address this vulnerability. The recommended mitigation involves upgrading to patched versions of java development kit and java runtime environment that contain proper security boundaries and isolation mechanisms. System administrators should also implement additional security measures such as java security policy restrictions, browser security settings, and network segmentation to limit the potential impact of any remaining vulnerabilities. This vulnerability aligns with common weakness enumeration category 284 which addresses inadequate access control mechanisms and relates to attack technique 1089 in the attack tree framework where attackers exploit security model weaknesses to access protected resources. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify any remaining unpatched systems and ensure comprehensive protection against similar security model flaws.