CVE-2013-5887 in Java SE
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Java SE 6u65 and 7u45 allows remote attackers to affect availability via unknown vectors related to Deployment.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2013-5887 represents a significant security flaw within Oracle Java SE versions 6u65 and 7u45, specifically affecting the deployment component of the Java runtime environment. This unspecified vulnerability falls under the broader category of availability impact, indicating that attackers can potentially disrupt the normal operation of systems through remote exploitation. The deployment functionality in Java SE handles the installation and management of Java applications, making it a critical component for system availability and security posture. The vulnerability's classification as unspecified suggests that the exact technical details of the attack vector were not fully disclosed in the initial advisory, which is common for certain types of availability-related flaws that may involve complex interactions within the deployment subsystem.
The technical nature of this vulnerability relates to the Java Deployment Toolkit and related components that manage how Java applications are installed, updated, and executed on target systems. Attackers exploiting this vulnerability could potentially cause denial of service conditions by manipulating the deployment process, leading to system instability or complete unavailability of Java-based services. This type of vulnerability typically involves memory corruption issues, resource exhaustion, or improper handling of malicious input within the deployment mechanism. The attack surface extends to any system running affected Java versions that may process or deploy Java applications, particularly those exposed to untrusted network traffic or user inputs.
From an operational impact perspective, systems running vulnerable Java versions face substantial risk of service disruption and potential system compromise. Organizations relying on Java applications for critical business operations may experience significant downtime and operational disruption when this vulnerability is exploited. The remote nature of the attack means that adversaries do not require physical access or local privileges to exploit the vulnerability, making it particularly dangerous in enterprise environments where Java applications are widely deployed. The availability impact could manifest as complete system crashes, application failures, or the inability to deploy new Java applications, which could severely affect business continuity and operational efficiency.
Organizations should prioritize immediate patching of affected systems to mitigate this vulnerability, as Oracle released security updates specifically addressing this issue in subsequent Java releases. The recommended mitigation strategy involves upgrading to patched versions of Java SE 6 and 7, ensuring that all systems running affected Java versions receive the necessary security updates. Security administrators should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit exposure of vulnerable systems to untrusted networks. Additionally, monitoring for suspicious network activity related to Java deployment processes and implementing application whitelisting policies can help reduce the attack surface and prevent exploitation attempts. This vulnerability aligns with common attack patterns documented in the attack tree model, where availability attacks often target foundational system components that are frequently accessed and critical to normal operations, potentially mapping to CWE-119 for memory corruption issues or CWE-400 for resource exhaustion vulnerabilities in the broader context of Java security flaws.