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Openj9Application · Eclipse

CVE-2019-11772

CRITICAL · 9.8 CVSS v3.0 Published 2019-07-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.15.0 or later.
See remediation →
100/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

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 · unedited
In Eclipse OpenJ9 prior to 0.15, the String.getBytes(int, int, byte[], int) method does not verify that the provided byte array is non-null nor that the provided index is in bounds when compiled by the JIT. This allows arbitrary writes to any 32-bit address or beyond the end of a byte array within Java code run under a SecurityManager.

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 confidence

In Eclipse OpenJ9 prior to version 0.15, the String.getBytes(int, int, byte[], int) method compiled by the JIT compiler lacks proper validation of the input byte array (null check) and the provided index (bounds check). This allows an attacker to write to arbitrary 32-bit memory addresses or beyond array bounds when Java code runs under a SecurityManager, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution.

MitigationUpgrade Eclipse OpenJ9 to version 0.15 or later. Alternatively, apply the vendor-supplied patch if upgrading is not immediately feasible, and review code using String.getBytes() for potential exploitation paths.

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
Openj9Application
Affected:< 0.15.0

CVSS 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
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

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 checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the JVM vendor
    Run 'java -version' or inspect the JVM properties (java.vendor, java.runtime.name) to confirm Eclipse OpenJ9 is in use
    Affected if The output shows Eclipse OpenJ9 as the JVM implementation
  2. Check the OpenJ9 version
    Run 'java -version' and examine the version string, or query the java.version property via 'java -XshowSettings:properties -version'. Compare the version to the 0.15.0 threshold
    Affected if The OpenJ9 version is below 0.15.0 (e.g., 0.14.0, 0.13.0, etc.)
  3. Verify if JIT compilation is enabled
    Check the JIT compiler configuration via JVM flags such as -Xjit or by inspecting output from 'java -XshowSettings:all'. The vulnerability exists in JIT-compiled code paths
    Affected if JIT compilation is enabled (the default behavior in OpenJ9)
  4. Determine if SecurityManager is in use
    Search application code and configuration files for java.security.SecurityManager usage, or check if -Djava.security.manager is passed as a JVM argument. The exploit requires code running under a SecurityManager context
    Affected if The application runs with a SecurityManager enabled

Users are affected if they are running Eclipse OpenJ9 versions prior to 0.15.0 with JIT compilation enabled in an environment that uses a SecurityManager, as the vulnerability requires these specific conditions to be exploitable.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.15.0 or later
Fixed in 0.15.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Eclipse OpenJ9 to version 0.15 or later. Alternatively, apply the vendor-supplied patch if upgrading is not immediately feasible, and review code using String.getBytes() for potential exploitation paths.

Recommended fix High confidence

OpenJ9 0.15.0 or later

  1. Identify the current OpenJ9 version in use by running 'java -version' or checking the JVM installation
  2. Upgrade Eclipse OpenJ9 to version 0.15.0 or later. Download from the official Eclipse OpenJ9 releases page (https://github.com/eclipse/openj9) or through your package manager
  3. Verify the upgrade was successful by running 'java -version' and confirming the version displays 0.15.0 or higher
  4. Test your Java applications to ensure they run correctly on the updated JVM
Caveat Minor JVM upgrades may introduce subtle behavioral changes; test critical applications thoroughly before production deployment

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Openj9 Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,860
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $6,176.

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2019-11772 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

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.

What belongs here
  • 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