14 DAY TRIAL // New Java updates for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard users are available from Apple, both containing improved reliability, security, and compatibility, according to the Cupertino, California-based Mac maker.
Apple’s Java for Mac OS X updates 4 and 9 for Leopard and Snow Leopard deliver improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6 and J2SE 5.0, Apple reveals in separate notes containing the changelogs for each release.
For example, “Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 4 delivers improved reliability, security, and compatibility for Java SE 6. Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 4 supersedes all previous versions of Java for Mac OS X v10.6,” Apple states on the Support section of its website.
Update 9 delivers the same improvements for J2SE 5.0 and Java SE 6, according to a separate note.
Java for Mac OS X 10.6 Update 4 updates Java SE 6 to version 1.6.0_24 and is targeted only at Mac OS X 10.6.4 or later versions of Mac OS X Snow Leopard.
Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 9 updates J2SE 5.0 to 1.5.0_28, and updates Java SE 6 to 1.6.0_24.
Notably, “J2SE 1.4.2 is no longer being updated to fix bugs or security issues and remains disabled by default in this update,” Apple said.
While this release is only for Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later versions of Mac OS X Leopard, it is supported on all Intel and PowerPC-based Macs. However, Java SE 6 is available on 64-bit Intel-based Macs only, according to Apple.
Both updates pack security fixes as well, most of which are common among the two releases.
Specifically, these vulnerabilities exist in Java 1.6.0_22.
The most serious of these bugs “may allow an untrusted Java applet to execute arbitrary code outside the Java sandbox.”
“Visiting a web page containing a maliciously crafted untrusted Java applet may lead to arbitrary code execution with the privileges of the current user,” reads Apple’s description of the Java flaw.