Java | Mark Cathey's Tech Site

The ranking of insecure software according to the number of known exploit versions: A large number of vulnerabilities meant that Java, Adobe Reader and Flash were responsible for 66 percent of the exploit versions recorded between 2000 and 2013. Although other groups were also recorded, they are not presented in the ranking shown above.

From the year 2000 through today, Java, Adobe Reader and Flash were responsible for 66% of the vulnerabilities exploited by malware on Windows, according to a new study by the research group AV-Test Institute.

The study reinforces the well-known rule that keeping applications software up to date is of critical importance for system security. The study does not indicate how many of the exploits were active when the vulnerabilities were unpatched, but such exploits are undoubtedly a small percentage of the total.

The long time span of the study may make it more of historical interest than practical value. Within the last five to ten years both Adobe and Microsoft have improved their software development processes lowering the overall number of vulnerabilities and the severity of those that get through. Current versions of Windows and both Microsoft and Adobe applications, are far more secure than in 2000, or even 2008.

The same is not as true of Java, which is the biggest current problem of the programs tracked by the study, in part because so many users still have old versions of Java installed on their systems.

Other user practices, such as running as a standard user rather than as Administrator, also limit the severity of application exploits. This was a difficult practice to employ with Windows XP, but in current versions of Windows it is far more practical to run as standard user.

Source: ZD Net

Security researchers from antivirus vendor Trend Micro have uncovered a piece of backdoor-type malware that infects Java-based HTTP servers and allows attackers to execute malicious commands on the underlying systems.

The threat, known as BKDR_JAVAWAR.JG, comes in the form of a JavaServer Page (JSP), a type of Web page that can only be deployed and served from a specialized Web server with a Java servlet container, such as Apache Tomcat.

Once this page is deployed, the attacker can access it remotely and can use its functions to browse, upload, edit, delete, download or copy files from the infected system using a Web console interface. This is similar to the functionality provided by PHP-based backdoors, commonly known as PHP Web shells.

“Aside from gaining access to sensitive information, an attacker gains control of the infected system thru the backdoor and can carry out more malicious commands onto the vulnerable server,” Trend Micro researchers said Thursday in a blog post.

This JSP backdoor can be installed by other malware already running on the system that hosts the Java-based HTTP server and Java servlet container or can be downloaded when browsing to malicious websites from such a system.

According to Trend Micro’s technical notes, the malware targets systems running Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7.

“Another possible attack scenario is when an attacker checks for websites powered by Apache Tomcat then attempts to access the Tomcat Web Application Manager,” the Trend Micro researchers said. “Using a password cracking tool, cybercriminals are able to login and gain manager/administrative rights allowing the deployment of Web application archive (WAR) files packaged with the backdoor to the server.”

In order to protect their servers from such threats, administrators should use strong passwords that cannot be easily cracked by using brute force tools, should deploy all security updates available for their systems and software and should avoid visiting unknown and untrusted websites, the Trend Micro researchers said.

Source: IDG News Service