Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 886237
konqueror: disable Java by default [rhel-6]
Last modified: 2014-01-30 04:21:24 EST
Description of problem: Konqueror browser enables Java support by default. As Java is one of the common targets for browser-based malware attacks, we should default to disabled Java so users that don't need to run Java applet are not exposed to the risks. Unlike Firefox, Konqueror does not require Java plugin to be installed to run applet, any installed JRE can be used to run it. This further increases the risk, as users may not be aware that applets may be run by their browser even though they have no plugin package installed. Is there possibly a way packaging can be altered so that Java support requires installation of additional package that is not required by default (e.g. by splitting kjava out of kdelibs)?
Java configuration in Konqueror has another odd setting - Use security manager. This is enabled by default (good), disabling it has significant security risks. It's probably useful setting for developers of kjava, it should have limited usefulness to normal user. It may be better to limit this setting to config file and not expose via UI.
it's easy fix, fastrack is fine with me.
Since the problem described in this bug report should be resolved in a recent advisory, it has been closed with a resolution of ERRATA. For information on the advisory, and where to find the updated files, follow the link below. If the solution does not work for you, open a new bug report. http://rhn.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2013-1053.html