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Exploit:Java/CVE-2012-5076.GAA
Aliases: No associated aliases
Summary
Exploit:Java/CVE-2012-5076.GAA is a malicious Java applet that attempt to exploit a vulnerability (CVE-2012-5076) in the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) in order to download and install files of an attacker’s choice onto your computer.
If you visit a website containing the malicious code while using a vulnerable version of Java, Exploit:Java/CVE-2012-5076.GAA is loaded. It then attempts to download and execute files from a remote host/URL; the files that are downloaded and executed could include additional malware.
The following versions of Java are vulnerable to this exploit:
JDK and JRE 7 Update 7 and earlier
Steps you can take
The nature of this threat means that you may need to take some steps to prevent being vulnerable from this, and similar exploits. We suggest you:
For detailed information about these steps, please see the Additional removal instructions below.
To detect and remove this threat and other malicious software that may be installed on your computer, run a full-system scan with an appropriate, up-to-date, security solution. The following Microsoft products detect and remove this threat:
- Microsoft Security Essentials or, for Windows 8, Windows Defender
- Microsoft Safety Scanner
Additional removal instructions
A detection of this exploit may be triggered from your Java cache, if a previous attempt at exploit has been made. When using Java, the Java cache is known as the Temporary Files folder and is commonly located at C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Local\Sun\Java\Deployment\cache\. The Temporary Files (or cache) folder contains webpage content that is stored on your hard disk for quick viewing.
We recommend that you delete your temporary Java files to prevent the persistent detection of this exploit from within this folder. For instructions on how to delete temporary Java files, please see the following article:
How do I clear the Java cache?
Update vulnerable Java applications
This threat exploits a known vulnerability in Java. After removing this threat, make sure that you install the updates available from the vendor. You can read more about this vulnerability in Java, as well as where to download the software update from the following links:
It may be necessary to remove older versions of Java that are still present. Keeping old and unsupported versions of Java on your system presents a serious security risk. To read more about why you should remove older versions of Java, see the following information.
