CVE-2010-3557 in Java
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in the Swing component in Oracle Java SE and Java for Business 6 Update 21, 5.0 Update 25, 1.4.2_27, and 1.3.1_28 allows remote attackers to affect confidentiality, integrity, and availability via unknown vectors. NOTE: the previous information was obtained from the October 2010 CPU. Oracle has not commented on claims from a reliable downstream vendor that this is related to the modification of "behavior and state of certain JDK classes" and "mutable static."
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 09/27/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2010-3557 represents a critical security flaw within Oracle Java SE and Java for Business platforms, specifically affecting Swing components across multiple version releases including Java 6 Update 21, Java 5.0 Update 25, and older versions 1.4.2_27 and 1.3.1_28. This unspecified vulnerability falls under the category of software security flaws that can potentially compromise the fundamental security properties of systems running affected Java versions. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified indicates that the exact technical details were not fully disclosed in the initial reporting, creating uncertainty for security professionals attempting to assess and mitigate the risk. The vulnerability's impact spans all three core security principles: confidentiality, integrity, and availability, making it particularly dangerous as it could enable attackers to compromise any or all of these security aspects simultaneously. The vulnerability's remote exploitability means that attackers can potentially compromise affected systems without requiring physical access or local privileges, significantly expanding the potential attack surface.
The technical nature of this vulnerability appears to be related to modifications of "behavior and state of certain JDK classes" and "mutable static" elements within the Java Development Kit. This suggests that the flaw involves manipulation of static class variables or methods that maintain state across different instances or executions of the Java application. According to CWE classification systems, this vulnerability likely corresponds to CWE-254, which deals with Security Features that are not implemented correctly, or potentially CWE-122, which addresses buffer overflow conditions. The mutable static nature of the vulnerability indicates that attackers could potentially modify class-level variables that maintain persistent state, allowing for manipulation of the application's behavior in ways that could compromise security. The fact that this affects JDK classes suggests that the vulnerability operates at the core Java runtime level rather than being application-specific, making it particularly impactful across all applications running on affected Java versions.
The operational impact of CVE-2010-3557 extends far beyond typical software vulnerabilities due to the widespread adoption of Java across enterprise environments and web applications. Organizations running affected Java versions could face complete system compromise, data breaches, and service disruptions, as attackers could exploit this vulnerability to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information, modify system behavior, or cause denial of service conditions. The vulnerability's potential to affect confidentiality means that attackers could potentially access protected data or system information that should remain private. Integrity compromise could allow attackers to modify application behavior or system configurations, while availability impact could result in service outages or system crashes. This vulnerability particularly affects enterprise environments where Java applications are extensively used for business-critical operations, web applications, and desktop applications. The downstream vendor's claim about modification of JDK class behavior suggests that this vulnerability could be leveraged to bypass security controls or manipulate the underlying Java runtime environment itself.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2010-3557 should prioritize immediate patching and updating of affected Java installations to the latest available versions that address this vulnerability. Organizations should conduct comprehensive vulnerability assessments to identify all systems running affected Java versions and prioritize remediation efforts accordingly. The implementation of network segmentation and access controls can help limit the potential impact of exploitation attempts, while monitoring systems should be deployed to detect suspicious network activity or unauthorized access attempts. Security teams should also consider implementing application whitelisting policies to restrict execution of untrusted Java applications and ensure that only authorized applications can run on critical systems. According to ATT&CK framework methodologies, this vulnerability would fall under the Tactic of Execution with potential techniques including Exploitation for Client Execution and Valid Accounts. Organizations should also implement regular security awareness training to help prevent social engineering attacks that might exploit this vulnerability, and establish incident response procedures specifically designed to handle Java-related security incidents. The vulnerability's age and the lack of detailed technical specifications in the original report emphasize the importance of maintaining up-to-date security patches and following vendor security advisories to prevent exploitation of known vulnerabilities.