Critical Java SE update due Tuesday fixes 40 flaws

Critical Java SE update due Tuesday fixes 40 flaws – The Reg

And yes, most are remotely exploitable

According to Oracle’s security announcement, the patch pack addresses 40 different vulnerabilities. All update levels of Java SE 5, 6, and 7 are affected by the flaws, as are all versions of JavaFX.

Of the 40 bugs, all but three are remotely exploitable over a network without the need for a username or password.

Oracle plans to release its latest Java SE Critical Patch Update on June 18, 2013.

Watch for it and install it if you have Java installed on your system. If you are sure you don’t need Java for anything, it would be best to uninstall it or disable it until the update, or at least disable Java in your browsers.

New Twist to Online Tech Support Scam and more

This one has been going on for quite a while, but it is definitely spreading like a bad rash. Just to prove it, one of my clients got a call from one of these while I was actually at their home for an appointment to work on their computer. What’s the chance of that happening? It’s certainly never happened before. And they are definitely using some serious social engineering to fool people into allowing them to get into their computers to quote/unquote fix their computers.

Thanks to Windows Secrets and Fred Langa for the link:

Windows Secrets reader Scott Brande was recently on the receiving end of a typical tech-support con. Recognizing it for what it was, he carefully documented the attempted snow job, then sent in his notes as a service to all Windows Secrets readers.

Check out the rest of Fred Langa’s article for the fully documented story.

And from IC3.gov site:

New Twist to Online Tech Support Scam and more – IC3.gov Scam Alerts (Jan 7, 2013)

NEW TWIST TO ONLINE TECH SUPPORT SCAM

The IC3 continues to receive complaints reporting telephone calls from individuals claiming to be with Tech Support from a well-known software company. The callers have very strong accents and use common names such as “Adam” or “Bill.” Callers report the user’s computer is sending error messages, and a virus has been detected. In order to gain access to the user’s computer, the caller claims that only their company can resolve the issue.

The caller convinces the user to grant them the authority to run a program to scan their operating system. Users witness the caller going through their files as the caller claims they are showing how the virus has infected their computer.

Users are told the virus could be removed for a fee and are asked for their credit card details. Those who provide the caller remote access to their computers, whether they paid for the virus to be removed or not, report difficulties with their computer afterwards; either their computers would not turn on or certain programs/files were inaccessible.

Some report taking their computers to local technicians for repair and the technicians confirmed software had been installed. However, no other details were provided.

In a new twist to this scam, it was reported that a user’s computer screen turned blue, and eventually black, prior to receiving the call from Tech Support offering to fix their computer. At this time, it has not been determined if this is related to the telephone call or if the user had been experiencing prior computer problems.

Unbelievable! MICROSOFT DOESN’T DO THAT!

Avoid tech support phone scams

Cybercriminals don’t just send fraudulent email messages and set up fake websites. They might also call you on the telephone and claim to be from Microsoft. They might offer to help solve your computer problems or sell you a software license. Once they have access to your computer, they can do the following:

• Trick you into installing malicious software that could capture sensitive data, such as online banking user names and passwords. They might also then charge you to remove this software.
• Take control of your computer remotely and adjust settings to leave your computer vulnerable.
• Request credit card information so they can bill you for phony services.
• Direct you to fraudulent websites and ask you to enter credit card and other personal or financial information there.

Neither Microsoft nor our partners make unsolicited phone calls (also known as cold calls) to charge you for computer security or software fixes.

More here at Microsoft’s article: Avoid Phone Scams

Some more interesting things in the IC3 Scam Alerts:

You might also find the rest of the IC3 Scam Alerts interesting; including a list of the most popular passwords out there. If you are using any of them as passwords, you might just want to change it now!

Also some info on Java Exploit that is for sale for 5 digits! :

Miscreants in the cyber underground are selling an exploit for a previously undocumented security hole in Oracle’s Java software that attackers can use to remotely seize control over systems running the program, KrebsOnSecurity has learned.

Might want to check out: How to Unplug Java from the Browser

Disable Java – Windows, Mac, Linux

US Department of Homeland Security advises disabling Java following fresh zero-day vulnerability – The Verge

A new Trojan horse has been discovered that exploits a flaw found in Java, leaving computers running Windows, Mac OS, and Linux vulnerable to attack. Mal/JavaJar-B allows attackers to remotely trigger code once it infects a system, potentially leading to the installation of malware, or even ransomware. Oracle hasn’t yet patched the vulnerability, which targets even the latest version of Java.

US-CERT RECOMMENDS THAT USERS DISABLE JAVA IN WEB BROWSERS

Apple has already taken care of this on the Mac by updating to disallow all Java except including the new one that hasn’t even been released yet. Excellent move from Apple.

Firefox and Google Chrome has had you click to even use Java for awhile now. From my experience, I believe that includes the current version of Java as well. As noted above, Firefox now includes the current version of Java in their blacklist. You have to personally choose to actually use Java using their Click to Play feature. Thank you Mozilla!

Google Chrome has instituted on December 21, 2012, noted in their blog posting, a feature that disallows silent extension addon installations. I believe this is something that Mozilla did some time ago when they experienced problems with it. Or maybe not.

So you will definitely want to disable Java in all browsers in Windows, Linux and on the Mac just to be safe for now.

Internet Explorer now allows you to disallow plugins by default and only allow those you specifically allow. But if you have allowed Java in the past, you will want to disable it:

How to Disable Java – PCMag

The PCMag article gives instructions for all the main browsers. Check it out and please for your sake don’t use a browser for general use that allows Java at least for now.

Disable it in at least one browser that you can use for general purpose use.

Whichever method you choose, visit the Java test page at http://java.com/en/download/testjava.jsp to confirm that Java is disabled. Yes, you’ll occasionally run across a website that relies on Java. If necessary, you can temporarily enable Java for those sites. But you may be surprised at how little you miss it.

More here at Security Garden, Dottech.org (How to/tutorial with images) and Venture Beat as well.

I have Java totally disallowed in my main browser, and enabled in one of my other browsers so I can still go to Secunia.com to use their OSI (Online Security Inspector) to check plugins and Internet facing programs. I also compare that with Firefox’s plugin checker. This in Windows. On my Mac, I have Java disabled in all but one browser and turn Java on and off as needed overall. In Linux Java is also disabled in my main browser.

This is very important until Oracle gets this updated and is quick to fix these vulnerabilities.

Oracle really needs to get on the stick before they and all the programs that make use of them are made obsolete! And there are millions of them!!!

EDIT: As of 1/11/2013 – Added Mozilla’s and Apple’s change to include blacklisting of the current version of Java due to the Trojan affecting even the current version of Java. See the info earlier in the posting.

Oracle to stop patching Java 6 in February 2013

Oracle to stop patching Java 6 in February 2013 – Computerworld

The article notes that of course this will be a hardship for Mac OS X Snow Leopard users and for users of earlier versions of OS X, but that is not as far as this rabbit hole goes. Very good article. Well worth a read.

That will leave a significant portion of Mac users without the means to run an up-to-date Java next year. According to Web metrics company Net Applications, approximately 41% of all Macs still run versions of OS X older than Lion.

Apple will presumably issue the final OS X patches for Java 6 in February alongside Oracle’s update.

It will also be hard on businesses, and even government agencies and departments, that will now be forced to work over their Java based programs to make sure they will still work with the current versions of Java 7.

That also means that Oracle themselves will have to update their Forms and Reports (or maybe these are things built by the companies using them too), to work with Java 7 so companies and some government agencies and departments can allow vendors that provide service and products to them. Currently, many of them must make use of Oracle Forms and Reports built on Java 6 from a special site like the MyInvoice subdomain that the government military still uses. That site requires a later version of Java 6 even now. This puts them and their vendors at risk by requiring an old Java on their systems in order to even work with them.

And what about the medical community. I have seen them falling down on the job as well on keeping up with the version of Java that physicians must use on their computers in order to read X-Rays remotely from home or on the road.

The article further is concerned about even upgrading to Java 7:

On Tuesday, Polish researcher Adam Gowdiak, who reported scores of Java vulnerabilities to Oracle this year, told the IDG News Service, “Our research proved that Java 7 was far more insecure than its predecessor version. We are not surprised that corporations are resistant when it comes to the upgrade to Java 7.”

Now that is sad news indeed. There are many sites that make use of Java and with good reason! Even Android is based on Linux — C,C++ and Java. As are many embedded systems, phones, and many electronic devices around the home.

Oracle needs to fix this problem and their Java. If they are going to be the owner of Java, they need to do better with the Java programming language that companies are not concerned about moving to their Java 7! So many programming eco systems out there depend on Java.

They inherited Java and the huge eco systems that depend on them, and base of users when they bought out Sun Microsystems. They can’t make swiss cheese with a door and think people will be be fine with this. Even things like OpenOffice.org and LibreOffice depend on Java — thankfully the current Java, but even that is according to this article, problematic. And what about all the embedded devices that depend on Java? When you install Java and are waiting for it to install, Oracle proudly talks about the billions of devices, that run Java. Oracle’s Java.com About page proudly states:

To date, the Java platform has attracted more than 9 million software developers. It’s used in every major industry segment and has a presence in a wide range of devices, computers, and networks.

Java technology’s versatility, efficiency, platform portability, and security make it the ideal technology for network computing. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

• 1.1 billion desktops run Java
• 930 million Java Runtime Environment downloads each year
• 3 billion mobile phones run Java
• 31 times more Java phones ship every year than Apple and Android combined
• 100% of all Blu-ray players run Java
• 1.4 billion Java Cards are manufactured each year
• Java powers set-top boxes, printers, Web cams, games, car navigation systems, lottery terminals, medical devices, parking payment stations, and more.

To see places of Java in Action in your daily life, explore java.com.

The bold on the bullet list above is mine.

Oracle really needs to wake up now before they totally destroy the great reputation that Sun Microsystems had when they conceived and built so much with Java. And all for nothing!

Trust is a terrible thing to waste.

 

 

Java flaws already included in Blackhole exploit kit within 12 hours

Java flaws already included in Blackhole exploit kit, Oracle was informed of vulnerabilities in April – Sophos Naked Security

It took less than 12 hours from the time the proof of concept for the latest Java zero-day vulnerabilities went public for exploits of those vulnerabilities to be included in a commercial crimeware kit.

Brian Krebs was first to mention having heard that CVE 2012-4681 was being added to the Blackhole exploit kit, and SophosLabs confirmed seeing it in the wild a few hours later.

And this about Macs in particular:

Some have asked if Mac users are at risk from the CVE 2012-4681 exploit and the answer is “Maybe.” The version officially distributed by Apple is Java 6, which is not vulnerable.

Interesting that an older version is not vulnerable to this particular zero day exploit. But if users of Lion and Mountain Lion have installed Java 7 directly from  Oracle’s Java.com site (which is the only way to even get Java on Lion and Mountain Lion), then they are vulnerable.

And of course, Windows and Linux/UNIX/BSD are all vulnerable as well if Java 7 has been installed.

Soon Twitter users were tweeting that Mac users were being attacked, but that the malware apparently on the blackhole server is serving Windows malware. Gives Mac users a reprieve to get their Java updated … if they installed it at all.

What is really sad is that Oracle was made aware of this vulnerability back in April and didn’t fix it in a timely manner.

Thankfully Firefox and Google Chrome will disable or at least not automatically run Java if it’s outdated. Other browsers (Internet Explorer, Opera, etc.) should be doing the same thing.

Java 7 ‘super dangerous’ vulnerability

There is a recently discovered ‘super dangerous’ vulnerability in Java 7.

This vulnerability affects all Java 7 users; whether they run a version of Windows, or using a Mac, or an Opensource Linux operating system:

Macs at risk from ‘super dangerous’ Java zero-day – Computerworld:

Hackers are exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Java 7, security experts said today.

The unpatched bug can be exploited through any browser running on any operating system, from Windows and Linux to OS X, that has Java installed, said Tod Beardsley, the engineering manager for Metasploit, the open-source penetration testing framework used by both legitimate researchers and criminal hackers.

I think the reason they have singled out Mac users in the article is that most Windows users if they have a recent version of Java installed will get upgrade notifications from Oracle’s Java. Where many Mac users until Lion had Java being updated (albeit late) by Apple. Now they are responsible to keep it updated on Lion IF they decide to install Java manually themselves. Lion and Mountain Lion do not come with Java installed by default. But if you do have it installed on your Mac:

Maynor said he was able to trigger the vulnerability with the Metasploit code in both Firefox 14 and Safari 6 on OS X 10.8, better known as Mountain Lion.

These exploits are mainly aimed at Windows users, but Macs are becoming more and more popular because overall they have less issues than Windows for viruses, etc.

But browser exploits are a bain for all computer users. And we have to keep our plugins updated to stay one step ahead.

If you are using Firefox, there is a page you can go to where you can check to see if your plugins can be checked to make sure you are up to date:

Firefox Check Plugins page

Interestingly that Check Plugins page also seems to work pretty well on Google Chrome’s browser as well. Just remember that if it tells you Flash is outdated, Google Chrome will be updating that for you on their next update.

Looks like I am off for a new Flash update… see ya next time.

Religious websites riskier than porn for online viruses: study

Religious websites riskier than porn for online viruses: study – Raw Story

Web wanderers are more likely to get a computer virus by visiting a religious website than by peering at porn, according to a study released on Tuesday.

“Drive-by attacks” in which hackers booby-trap legitimate websites with malicious code continue to be a bane, the US-based anti-virus vendor Symantec said in its Internet Security Threat Report.

The same article, or variations on the theme have been have been run by many news/technology venues such as InformationWeek, NYDailyNews, WallStreetJournal Blogs, CSO Online, PCWorld, etc. Many created their own stories from the report, so well worth a read.

Where did all this information come from:
Symantec Internet Security Threat Report – 2011

Malware in 2011
By analyzing malicious code we can determine which threats types and attack vectors are being employed. The endpoint is often the last line of defense, but it can often be the first-line of defense against attacks that spread using USB storage devices, insecure network connections and compromised, infected websites. Symantec’s cloud-based technology and reputation systems can also help to identify and block new and emerging attacks that haven’t been seen before, such as new targeted attacks employing previously unknown zero-day exploits. Analysis of malware activity trends both in the cloud and at the endpoint can help to shed light on the wider nature of threats confronting businesses, especially from blended attacks and threats facing mobile workers.

Corresponding to their large internet populations, the United States, China and India remained the top sources for overall malicious activity. …

The reference about religious sites?

Moreover, religious and ideological sites were found to have triple the average number of threats per infected site than adult/pornographic sites. We hypothesize that this is because pornographic website owners already make money from the internet and, as a result, have a vested interest in keeping their sites malware-free – it’s not good for repeat business.

And here’s just one more small area of the report:

Exploiting the Web: Attack toolkits, rootkits and social networking threats

Attack toolkits, which allow criminals to create new malware and assemble an entire attack without having to write the software from scratch, account for nearly two-thirds (61%) of all threat activity on malicious websites. As these kits become more widespread, robust and easier to use, this number is expected to climb. New exploits are quickly incorporated into attack kits. Each new toolkit version released during the year is accompanied with increased malicious Web attack activity. As a new version emerges that incorporates new exploit functionality, we see an increased use of it in the wild, making as much use of the new exploits until potential victims have patched their systems. For example, the number of attacks using the Blackhole toolkit, which was very active in 2010, dropped to a few hundred attacks per day in the middle of 2011, but re-emerged with newer versions generating hundreds of thousands of infection attempts per day towards the end of the year.

On average, attack toolkits contain around 10 different exploits, mostly focusing on browser independent plug-in vulnerabilities like Adobe Flash Player, Adobe Reader and Java. Popular kits can be updated every few days and each update may trigger a wave of new attacks.

They are relatively easy to find and sold on the underground black market and web forums. Prices range from $40 to $4,000. …

The whole report is well worth a read! There is only so much you can put into an article.

Much more in the report!

Oracle Java SE Update – Critical Update

Oracle Java SE Update – Security Garden

Oracle Java released an update to Java SE 6 and Java SE 7.

Edited to clarify:  Included in the Oracle updates are eighty-eight (88) new critical security fixes across numerous Oracle products, listed in the Oracle Critical Patch Update Advisory.  It is strongly advised that the update be installed for those products as soon as possible due to the thread posed by a successful attack.

More in the article.

Time to start checking Java.com for updates from Oracle that fix the latest Bugfixes for Java for your Windows, Solaris, and Linux operating systems. Linux users can also check their distros for these updates, and Mac users should start checking rigorously for updates to Java SE 6 from Apple.

NOTE: As of 10:37 AM EDT today, April 28, 2012, the Java website still shows Java SE 6, Update 31.

You will want to check the download links on Security Garden’s posting for the most recent updates. Or here on Oracle’s download page for Java SE Runtime Environment 6 Update 32 for Linux, Solaris, Windows (mainstream version that works with most applications). Mac OS X users still need to get their Java SE 6, Update 32 from Apple, so please keep checking!

Thanks for keeping us updated on Oracle’s Java status, Security Garden!

New, sneakier Flashback malware infects Macs

New, sneakier Flashback malware infects Macs – Computerworld

A new, sneakier variant of the Flashback malware was uncovered yesterday by the French security firm Intego.

Flashback.S, which Intego described Monday, uses the same Java vulnerability as an earlier version that has infected an estimated 820,000 Macs since its appearance and still plagues over 600,000 machines.

But unlike Flashback.K, the variant that first surfaced last month and has caused consternation among Mac users, Flashback.S never asks the victim to enter an administrative password for installation, but instead relies only on the silent exploit of the Java bug to sneak onto the system.

“The differences are very subtle,” Peter James, a spokesman for Intego, said in an interview Tuesday. “There’s no password request [by Flashback.S].”

Much more in the two page article.

Apple will likely need to update their seek and destroy tool very quickly to help users stay free of this new variant.

If you think you are beginning to need an antivirus/antimalware solution, there are quite a few out there. Below are just a few:

Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac Home Edition – Sophos has a worthy product out there and it is nice that they make their money on corporate/business computers and offer the home version for free.

ClamXav The Free Anti-Virus Solution for Mac OS X It uses the popular open source ClamAV engine as it’s back end and has the ability to detect both Windows and Mac threats.

There are other options as well for the Pay to Play crowd.

ESET Cybersecurity for Mac

And others from Intego Virus Barrier for Mac free and Pro versions available in the Mac App Store. Intego as noted above found this newest FlashBack in the wild). Other Mac antivirus firms Symantec/Norton, and many more.

Many of these come with a heavy CPU usage hit that is very annoying considering the small number of actual threats out there for the Mac. Of course some users may feel that the ones that provide real time protection are the way to go, some may feel it is worth it if their Macs are speedy enough and they have enough RAM.

For those who don’t think they need a Mac antivirus just yet, if you don’t use Java or none of your programs use Java, you could go to the ~/Applications/Utilities/Java Preferences.app and disable Java until you actually need it and then re-enable it as needed. It’s a very easy thing to do really.

Or you could set up AppleScript to monitor areas where malware might inject itself so it will alert you.

Monitor OS X LaunchAgents folders to help prevent malware attacks – CNET

Some additional locations to add can be found at MrAnderson.info here.

Also installing Piriform CCleaner for Mac is a great idea and can be run as needed very quickly every day even.

Certainly less of a system resource hit and one could still have a non-resident antivirus and scan at your convenience and respond if the Applescript tells you something is going on that you didn’t instigate by installing a program, etc.

The Applescript monitoring locations that you can set up is built with Mac OS X which is light on resources and free. The Applescript monitoring does a similar thing as WinPatrol does in Windows – but of course in a very small area comparatively. WinPatrol does so much more but the key similarity is the monitoring for changes to areas that malware can hit a Windows PC.

What we need for people who are not very savvy about these things is a MacPatrol app like WinPatrol.

Call Starkist…

New version of Mac OS X Trojan exploits Word, not Java

New version of Mac OS X Trojan exploits Word, not Java – ZDNET

A second variant of the Mac OS X Trojan referred to as Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a or SX/Sabpab-A is exploiting a Microsoft Word security hole, not the usual Java vulnerabilities used before.

Just a few days ago, a new Mac OS X Trojan was spotted in the wild that exploited Java vulnerabilities and required no user interaction to infect your Apple Mac, just like the Flashback Trojan. Kaspersky referred to it as “Backdoor.OSX.SabPub.a” while Sophoscalled it at “SX/Sabpab-A.” Now, both security firms have confirmed a different variant of this new Trojan that infects Macs by exploiting Microsoft Word, not Java.

Sophos detects the malicious Word documents as Troj/DocOSXDr-A and points to the following Microsoft Security Bulletin: MS09-027. Kaspersky meanwhile points to this security bulletin for the same Microsoft Word security hole: CVE-2009-0563.

So, it looks like uninstalling Java or disabling it is not the biggest threat afterall. 😉 Now you need to upgrade your Microsoft Office software to protect you from this.

Very important to do, and updating your Java is very important too through Apple Software Updates as Apple put out another update that not only fixed the problem, it also removed the malware infection if found.

Better late than never? Apple has released the third Java update in a week for Mac OS X, and this one contains the tool to remove the Flashback malware from infected systems. Beneath the belated fix to help users eradicate the threat, Apple has introduced a proactive approach to reducing security risk, and other vendors should take note.