Update uninstalls Apple-provided Java plug-in

One day after Oracle released a massive security update, which included fixes for a number of Java vulnerabilities, Apple shipped its own update for Java for Mac OS X.

The Wednesday release not only patches 20 flaws in Java version 1.6.0_35 -- the most severe of which could allow an attacker to execute malicious code outside of the Java sandbox -- but it also takes the unique step of uninstalling the "Apple-provided Java applet plug-in from all web browsers," according to a support document.

If Mac users still want Java for the browser, which many security experts cautioned against because it is such a common malware vector, they must upload the software directly from Oracle.

Apple caught flak in April for taking six weeks to issue Java fixes after Oracle has already made an update available. This allowed the Flashback trojan to spread to an estimated 600,000 Mac computers.