Secunia

Jouko Pynnönen has reported a vulnerability in Java Web Start, which can be exploited by malicious people to compromise a user's system.

The vulnerability is caused due to an input validation error when handling property tags in JNLP files. This can be exploited to pass arbitrary command line arguments to the virtual machine by tricking a user into opening a malicious JNLP file.

Successful exploitation can lead to the Java "sandbox" being disabled.

NOTE: JNLP files are opened automatically in Microsoft Internet Explorer.

The vulnerability affects Java Web Start included in J2SE releases 1.4.2 through 1.4.2_06 for Windows, Solaris and Linux.

Solution
The vulnerability has been fixed in J2SE releases 1.4.2_07 or later for Windows, Solaris and Linux.

Provided and/or discovered by
Jouko Pynnönen

Changelog
Further details available in Customer Area

Original Advisory
Sun Microsystems:
http://sunsolve.sun.com/search/document.do?assetkey=1-26-57740-1

Jouko Pynnönen:
http://jouko.iki.fi/adv/ws.html

Deep Links
Links available in Customer Area