Security Bulletin: IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition Quarterly CPU - Jan 2021 - Includes Oracle Jan 2021 CPU plus CVE-2020-27221

Summary

There are multiple vulnerabilities in IBM® SDK Java™ Technology Edition, Versions 7, and 8** that are used by Maximo Asset Management, Maximo Industry Solutions (including Maximo for Nuclear Power, Maximo for Transportation, Maximo for Life Sciences, Maximo for Oil and Gas and Maximo for Utilities) and IBM Control Desk. These issues were disclosed as part of the IBM Java SDK updates in Jan 2021.

Vulnerability Details

Refer to the security bulletin(s) listed in the Remediation/Fixes section

Affected Products and Versions

CVEID:CVE-2020-14803
**DESCRIPTION:**An unspecified vulnerability in Java SE could allow an unauthenticated attacker to obtain sensitive information resulting in a low confidentiality impact using unknown attack vectors.
CVSS Base score: 5.3
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/190121 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N)

CVEID:CVE-2020-27221
**DESCRIPTION:**Eclipse OpenJ9 is vulnerable to a stack-based buffer overflow when the virtual machine or JNI natives are converting from UTF-8 characters to platform encoding. By sending an overly long string, a remote attacker could overflow a buffer and execute arbitrary code on the system or cause the application to crash.
CVSS Base score: 9.8
CVSS Temporal Score: See: https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/195353 for the current score.
CVSS Vector: (CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H)

The following IBM Java versions are affected:

IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 7 Service Refresh 10 Fix Pack 75 and earlier releases
IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 7 R1 Service Refresh 4 Fix Pack 75 and earlier releases
IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 8 Service Refresh 6 Fix Pack 20 and earlier releases
IBM SDK, Java Technology Edition, Version 11 Service Refresh 9 and earlier releases

It is likely that earlier unsupported versions are also affected by these vulnerabilities. Remediation is not provided for product versions that are no longer supported. IBM recommends that customers running unsupported versions upgrade to the latest supported version of products in order to obtain remediation for the vulnerabilities.

Remediation/Fixes

There are three areas where the vulnerabilities in the Java SDK/JDK or JRE may require remediation:

1. Application Server – Update the Websphere Application Server. Refer to Security Bulletin: Multiple vulnerabilities may affect IBM® SDK for additional information on updating and maintaining the JDK component within Websphere. Customers with Oracle Weblogic Server, which is not an IBM product and is not shipped by IBM, will also want to update their server.

2. Browser Client - Update the Java plug-in used by the browser on client systems, using the remediated JRE version referenced on developerWorks JavaTM Technology Security Alerts or referenced on Oracle’s latest Critical Patch Update (which can be accessed via developerWorks JavaTM Technology Security Alerts). Updating the browser Java plug-in may impact some applets such as Maximo Asset Management Scheduler. Download from IBM FixCentral the latest Maximo Asset Management Fix Pack.

3. Admin Tools - Update the JRE version in the <MAXIMO_HOME>/tools/java directory using the remediated JRE version referenced on Java SDK downloads, version 8.0.

Due to the threat posed by a successful attack, IBM strongly recommends that customers apply fixes as soon as possible.

Workarounds and Mitigations

None