14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has released two separate Java iterations for users of Mac OS X Snow Leopard and Mac OS X Lion, addressing the reliability and security of the platform originally developed by Sun Microsystems.
According to a knowledge-base article on Apple’s Support web site, “Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 6 delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6. Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 6 supersedes all previous versions of Java for Mac OS X 10.6.”
Java for Mac OS X 10.7 Update 1 contains the same tweaks, and brings Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_29.
As noted above, the new Java updates focus on improving OS X security just as much as they do on improving compatibility and stability.
Affecting Mac OS X v10.6.8, Mac OS X Server v10.6.8, OS X Lion v10.7.2, and Lion Server v10.7.2, “Multiple vulnerabilities exist in Java 1.6.0_26, the most serious of which may allow an untrusted Java applet to execute arbitrary code outside the Java sandbox,” according to Apple’s advisory, which documents well over a dozen such flaws.
“Visiting a web page containing a maliciously crafted untrusted Java applet may lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user,” Apple explains.
According to the company, updating to Java version 1.6.0_29 will patch these holes for good.
The owners of the platform, Oracle, offer additional information on the update at http://java.sun.com/javase/6/webnotes/ReleaseNotes.html.
The Java updates are available for download via the link below. The two packages average at 70MB per download. Supported languages include Deutsch, English, Français, Español, Italiano, Nederlands, Dansk, Norsk Bokmål, Polski, Português, Português Brasileiro, Pусский, Suomi, Svensk, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.