Brief Hands-On Report--Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 4

Apple released Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 4 for Mac OS X 10.4.5 and later, client and server editions. It is available for download via the automatic Software Update application or as stand-alone updaters for PPC-based and Intel-based Macs. Our job is to be an early-adopter, i.e. to install the update and to let you know what happened.

According to Apple,

Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 4 delivers improved reliability and compatibility for Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 5.0 on Mac OS X v10.4.5 and later. This release includes J2SE version 1.5.0_06. With this update J2SE 5.0 becomes the preferred Java version, superseding Java 1.4.2. Java 1.4.2 is still installed on your machine, but applications will run with J2SE 5.0 unless they specifically request Java 1.4.2.

J2SE 5.0 Release 4 provides fixes for the following security issues:

CVE-ID: CVE-2006-0613
Impact: Untrusted Java applications may obtain elevated privileges.
Description: A security vulnerability in Java Web Start may allow an untrusted application to elevate its privileges. This update addresses the issue by providing J2SE version 1.5.0_06,
which is not susceptible to this vulnerability. For additional information on this issue see Sun Alert 102170.

CVE-ID: CVE-2006-0614, CVE-2006-0615, CVE-2006-0616, CVE-2006-0617
Impact: Untrusted Java applets may obtain elevated privileges.
Description: Security vulnerabilities related to the use of "reflection" APIs in the Java Runtime Environment may allow an untrusted applet to elevate its privileges. This update addresses these issues by providing J2SE version 1.5.0_06, which is not susceptible to these vulnerabilities. For additional information on these issues see Sun Alert 102171.

Additionally, a minor security-related fix for Java InputMethods is included in this update. Due to an issue handling input method events, it is possible that key events intended for a secure field such as a password field may be sent to a normal text field in the same window. This could result in accidental password disclosure to others physically present when the password is entered. This update addresses the problem by properly handling input method events.

We downloaded and installed Java 2 Standard Edition (J2SE) 5.0 Release 4 on Intel-based Mac mini, iMac and MacBook Pro and Power PC-based Mac mini, Power Mac G5, G4 Cube, iMac G5 and PowerBook G4. There were no installation problems and we've encountered no operational problems in several hours of use. [Bill Fox & Dana Baggett]