CVE-2005-1973
Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.
NVD · uneditedJava Web Start in Java 2 Platform Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 and 5.0 Update 1 allows applications to assign permissions to themselves and gain privileges.
Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.
dbcve analysis · high confidenceJava Web Start in J2SE 5.0 and 5.0 Update 1 contains a vulnerability where applications can assign permissions to themselves, effectively granting elevated privileges beyond what they were originally granted. This is a privilege escalation issue where the application can bypass the intended permission model.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.
NVD · CPE data= 5.0= 5.0_update1CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.
From the vector- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Authentication
- None
- Confidentiality
- Partial
- Integrity
- Partial
- Availability
- Partial
AV:N/AC:H/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P
Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.
dbcve checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Check installed Java versionRun 'java -version' from command line and note the version output. On Windows also check 'javac -version'. Look for version string containing '1.5.0' or '5.0'.Affected if The version output shows exactly 1.5.0, 5.0, 1.5.0_01, or 5.0_update1 (representing J2SE 5.0 or 5.0 Update 1)
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Check if Java Web Start is installedRun 'which javaws' on Linux/Mac or check for javaws.exe in the Java installation bin directory (e.g., C:\Program Files\Java\jre1.5.0_xx\bin\javaws.exe on Windows).Affected if Java Web Start (javaws) is installed and present on the system, indicating the vulnerable component exists
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Confirm exact J2SE release versionCheck the full version string from the Java Control Panel (Windows) or by examining the JRE/JDK directory name in the installation path. Look for update version suffix like '_01' indicating Update 1.Affected if The installation directory or version info shows '5.0' or '5.0_update1' specifically, matching the exact affected versions listed
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Verify Java Web Start is in useReview system for any .jnlp files (Java Web Start launch files) or check browser/plugin configurations for Java Web Start integration.Affected if Java Web Start is actively configured or being used, as the vulnerability only applies when this component is utilized
The environment is affected only if Java J2SE version 5.0 or 5.0 Update 1 is installed AND Java Web Start component is present and in use, since the privilege escalation flaw exists specifically within the Java Web Start functionality of these versions.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.
From vendor dataUpgrade to Java SE 5.0 Update 2 or later, which contains the fix for this vulnerability. Alternatively, upgrade to a more recent supported Java version.
- Consultation1.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing2.0 h
- Review / QA1.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2005-1973 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2005-1973 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.
- Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
- No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
- No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data