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Oracle today released an update to its ubiquitous Java software that fixes at least 17 security vulnerabilities in the program.
The company is advising users to apply this update as soon as possible; it looks like most — if not all — of the vulnerabilities addressed by this new version may be exploited remotely without authentication.
The latest version is Java 6 Update 26 (v. 1.6.0.26), and is available either through the updater built in to Java (accessible from the Windows control panel) or by visiting java.com. If you’re not sure which version you have or whether you’ve got the program installed at all, click the “Do I have Java” link below the red download button on the Java homepage.
Java’s broad install base has made it a major target for computer crooks. It certainly does not help that so many users fail to keep this very powerful program updated. If you have no use for Java, my advice is to get rid of it.
If you can’t bring yourself to do that, consider disabling the Java plug-in(s) in your browser of choice unless and until you need the program.
Java 6 update 26 for Windows, Linux and Solaris is designed to plug these multiple holes and is available for download from Oracle here. The last major update on this scale was three months ago.
Java packages on Windows can alternatively be patched using a built-in update function.
Apple users will have to wait until Apple releases an update to address these vulnerabilities, since there’s no update for Mac OS X from Oracle.
The ubiquity of Java and the difficulty many users understandably have in keeping the software up to date have made it an attractive target for hackers. Users should consider whether they might be better off uninstalling Java from their systems or, at the very least, disabling Java altogether.
This entry was posted
on Thursday, June 9th, 2011 at 06:07 by dsmith and is filed under Apple, Browser, Chrome, Exploit, Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Java, MacOS, Mozilla, OS X, Patch, Vulnerability, Windows.
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