Viruses/Worms News

Apple fixes Java security flaw for Mac OS X

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Apple patched 32 vulnerabilities in multiple versions of Java used in Mac OS X 10.5 and Mac OS X 10.4, more than six months after Sun Microsystems fixed the same flaws for Windows and Linux platforms.

The company acknowledged that some of the flaws could be used by remote attackers to take control of Macs. "Visiting a web page containing a maliciously crafted untrusted Java applet may lead to arbitrary code execution," the company said in its security bulletin.

Because Apple uses its own versions of Java, the company frequently fixes security flaws months after Sun issues them.

Last month, Landon Fuller, a former Apple employee, published proof-of-concept for a Mac Java vulnerability on his blog because "it seems that many Mac OS X security issues are ignored if the severity of the issue is not adequately demonstrated."

As the vulnerability had been public knowledge for six months, "I have decided to release a my own proof of concept to demonstrate the issue," Fuller wrote.

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