Threats / Oracle / CVE-2011-3544
CVE-2011-3544
· EUVD no mirror located
· GCVE no mirror located
Verified 2026-08-04
Oracle Java SE JDK and JRE vulnerability
An access control vulnerability in Oracle Java SE's Applet Rhino Script Engine permits remote arbitrary code execution.
Verdict
Today item — known-exploited.
This vulnerability enables unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code through a compromised or malicious applet, bypassing security restrictions in the Rhino scripting engine. Active exploitation in the wild indicates immediate risk.
CISA KEV Yes · 2022-03-034EPSS 0.96714 (verify live)5CVSS 9.8 (CISA)3CISA SSVC Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Impact: total3Exploit Weaponized · public exploit · Metasploit module11
01
Is it exploitable?
— the evidence, ranked above the scoreReported exploitation
7 independent public reports of in-the-wild exploitation are cataloged.Distinct reporting sources (vendor, incident response, government); open them for the underlying claims.
Exploited in the wild
Listed in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog (added 2022-03-03).
Probability (EPSS)
EPSS 0.96714 — modeled likelihood of exploitation activity.EPSS is a daily-changing model output — open the source for today's value.
Severity / affected
CVSS 9.8 (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H) · Affected: Oracle, Java SE JDK and JRE. Confirm exact fixed builds in the vendor advisory.CVSS — CISA-assigned via the ADP container (CVE.org), version 3.1; the CNA left no metrics, so CISA's own score is used ahead of NVD.
CISA SSVC (triage disposition)
Exploitation: active · Automatable: yes · Technical Impact: totalCISA's own stakeholder-specific triage inputs, published in the CVE record (CISA Coordinator role). NOTE: this is CISA's three decision points; the final Act/Attend/Track decision also requires a Mission & Well-being input not published here, so no overall decision is asserted.
Currency of the record
CISA added this to its KEV catalog 3788 days after the CVE record was published.KEV lag = CISA-KEV dateAdded − CVE.org datePublished; a floor on how long the known-exploited flaw sat in the public record before the federal catalog listed it. Severity/weakness here is CNA- or CISA-assigned (current at disclosure), independent of NVD's analysis backlog.
Public exploit available
Public exploit tooling is catalogued for this CVE (a functional/weaponized public exploit). Catalog entries: Metasploit module. We link the catalog page(s) only — no payload or code is hosted or restated here.Link, never host — the catalog page is the source; basicsecurity.net does not redistribute payloads.
02
Who’s exploiting it?
— attribution turns risk into urgencyAttribution not established
No confirmed (advisory-backed) threat-actor attribution is established for this record. Absence of a named actor is not absence of compromise — see Coverage & confidence.
03
Why it matters
— the attack path, told twice: adversary, then board1
Front door — unauthenticated access narrative 1
Attacker
I craft a malicious Java applet that exploits the Rhino Script Engine access control flaw to break out of the applet sandbox.
Business
An attacker gains code execution on any user's system running vulnerable Java, enabling data theft, malware installation, or lateral movement.
2
Keys to the kingdom — privilege/identity takeover narrative 2
Attacker
I host the malicious applet on a website or inject it into legitimate web content to trigger automatic execution when users visit.
Business
Organizations face widespread compromise of employee workstations and client systems without user awareness or consent.
3
Lateral reach — past segmentation narrative 3
Attacker
I establish persistent access and escalate privileges to move through the network or exfiltrate sensitive data.
Business
Confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical systems are compromised; incident response and remediation costs escalate significantly.
04
What to do
— defensible action- Remediate per the vendor advisory — confirm the fixed build for your version and verify exposure.1
Say it to the boardA vulnerability with this evidence profile is a defensible budget line, not a backlog ticket — fund the change against the proof above.
05