CVE-2014-0423 in Java SE
Summary
by MITRE
Unspecified vulnerability in Oracle Java SE 5.0u55, 6u65, and 7u45; JRockit R27.7.7 and R28.2.9; Java SE Embedded 7u45; and OpenJDK 7 allows remote authenticated users to affect confidentiality and availability via unknown vectors related to Beans. NOTE: the previous information is from the January 2014 CPU. Oracle has not commented on third-party claims that this issue is an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability in DocumentHandler.java, related to Beans decoding.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 06/07/2021
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2014-0423 represents a significant security weakness within Oracle Java SE and related platforms that has persisted across multiple versions including Java 5.0u55, 6u65, 7u45, JRockit R27.7.7 and R28.2.9, Java SE Embedded 7u45, and OpenJDK 7. This unspecified flaw specifically relates to the Beans component within the Java runtime environment, creating potential risks for both confidentiality and availability of systems that rely on these platforms. The vulnerability was initially documented in the January 2014 Critical Patch Update, indicating its severity and the need for immediate attention from system administrators and security professionals. The lack of detailed information from Oracle regarding the specific nature of the vulnerability has created uncertainty among security researchers and organizations attempting to assess their risk exposure.
The technical nature of this vulnerability appears to be connected to the DocumentHandler.java component within the Beans decoding functionality, as suggested by third-party analysis indicating it may be an XML External Entity (XXE) vulnerability. This classification places the issue within CWE-611, which specifically addresses Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference, a category that has historically been exploited to gain unauthorized access to sensitive information or disrupt system availability. The Beans component in Java applications handles serialization and deserialization of objects, making it a critical point of potential attack where maliciously crafted XML data could be processed to trigger unintended behavior. The XXE vulnerability would allow attackers to reference external resources during XML processing, potentially enabling data exfiltration or denial-of-service conditions through resource exhaustion.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability affects systems where Java applications process untrusted XML data through the Beans component, particularly in environments that handle document processing, web services, or data exchange scenarios. The remote authenticated nature of the vulnerability means that attackers who can submit data to Java applications may exploit this weakness without requiring direct system access, making it particularly dangerous in web applications or services that accept user input. The confidentiality impact suggests that sensitive data could potentially be accessed through information disclosure mechanisms, while the availability impact indicates that systems might become unavailable due to resource exhaustion or application crashes. Organizations running affected Java versions across their infrastructure face significant risk of data breaches or service disruptions, particularly in enterprise environments where Java applications handle sensitive business data.
Security mitigations for CVE-2014-0423 should prioritize immediate patching of all affected Java versions to prevent exploitation. Organizations should also implement network segmentation and access controls to limit the exposure of Java applications to untrusted data sources. Input validation and sanitization should be enhanced for any XML processing components, particularly those utilizing the Beans framework. Additionally, security monitoring should be implemented to detect potential exploitation attempts through unusual XML processing patterns or resource consumption spikes. The vulnerability's classification as potentially XXE-related suggests that implementing proper XML parser configurations, disabling external entity resolution, and applying the principle of least privilege to Java application execution contexts would provide additional defense layers. Organizations should also consider implementing web application firewalls or security proxies that can detect and block malicious XML content before it reaches vulnerable Java applications, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1213 for Data from Information Repositories. Regular security assessments and vulnerability scanning should be conducted to identify other potential XXE or similar vulnerabilities within the broader Java ecosystem and related applications.