
Java vulnerabilities have been a common exploit used by malicious hackers looking to exploit the OS X platform.
#JAVA MAC OS X UPDATE#
The Mac maker dropped the Java runtime from the default installation for OS X 10.7 Lion when the operating system update launched in 2010.

Over the last few years, Apple has moved to gradually remove Java from OS X. And as noted by MacGeneration on Thursday, Apple has again updated its OS X XProtect list, this time to block Java 7 Update 11.īecause Oracle has yet to issue a newer version of Java that addresses any outstanding issues, Mac users are prevented from running Java on their system.
#JAVA MAC OS X PATCH#
Department of Homeland Security had recommended that all Java 7 users disable or uninstall the software until a patch was issued.Īpple took action on its own and quietly disabled the plugin through its OS X anti-malware system. Oracle issued the latest update to Java earlier this month to fix a serious zero-day security flaw. Have you tried any of the community builds? Let us know what you think in the comments.The recently released Java 7 Update 11 has been blocked by Apple through its XProtect anti-malware feature in OS X. There are occasional problems with non-fatal X11-related exceptions clogging up standard out – due to some of the Mac’s uniqueness, but on the whole, it’s not bad at all for a pre-release product. For now, we’re pretty happy running the community-provided OpenJDK builds. Here at, we think that we could be looking at roughly a 3 month gap between Java 7 GA and a Mac release – so maybe October 2011 if all goes well. Of course, the OpenJDK code (which Oracle regard as the reference implementation) will be available (and GPL) for anyone who wants to build their own binary.

This applies to the Oracle-supplied binary builds. The official line from Oracle is that JDK 7 will GA with Windows, Linux and Solaris as first-class supported operating systems, and the Mac will release as soon as possible after, with the hope that at some point in the future updates for the Mac version will be released at the same time as other OSes. Relevant bug fixes should be able to go both ways between the two related ports, where possible.Īll of this is likely to take time, however. Buried at the bottom of the page is a link to a page where the open bugs for the Mac port are being publicly tracked (as they’re ported across from Apple’s internal system).ĭevelopment is focused around JDK 7 – the basic idea is to take a fork of the community-maintained BSD port, and add Apple’s code to it, to produce a Mac-specific port. Over the last few days, there have been some developments – for example this wiki page, detailing the progress of the Mac port, has appeared. I, for one, can’t wait to see what Nimbus look-and-feel will look like under native Aqua.
#JAVA MAC OS X FOR MAC#
It’s also good news for Mac users – as it means that, for example, the native Aqua look-and-feel will continue to be supported – so Java desktop apps on Mac will look lovely. This is good news for Java developers who want to develop on Mac. Over time, the Mac platform will become a completely first-class citizen in the Java world.Oracle will take over the stewardship of the Mac port of Java.Apple will contribute the code that they used for their private Mac Java builds as GPL code to OpenJDK.Hopefully, by now, everyone knows that Apple joined the OpenJDK project last year.
