Java Software maker Oracle Corp will soon issue an early fix for a security flaw found in their software.
"A fix will be available shortly," the company said in a statement released late on Friday, reported Reuters.
Oracle Corp further said that security flaw was only found in the latest Java version 7 and the Java software (plug-ins) designed to run on internet browsers.
However, it did not specify a particular timeline of how soon the fix will be made available.
The security flaw was first reported on last Thursday. US-CERT (United States-Computer Emergency Readiness Team), the working arm of Department of Homeland Security, issued an advisory that the flawed Java software made PCs vulnerable to attacks from cyber-criminals.
Soon after the advisory was red-flagged, American technology giant Apple quickly disabled the Java 7 plug-ins through their OS X anti-malware system, reported AppleInsider.
Java, a cross-platform software is installed on hundreds of millions of PCs around the world. Programmers use Java to write software with just one set of codes that will run on virtually any type of computer.
Java is used by web developers to make sites accessible from browsers running on Microsoft Corp Windows PCs or Macs from Apple Inc.
Computer users access those programs through modules or plug-ins that run Java software on top of browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox.
Since the Java software is available for free on Oracle Corp's website. The ubiquitous software (version 7) has now made hundreds of millions of PCs around the world vulnerable to data theft from hackers.
Hackers equipped with modern 'exploit kits' can easily convince an unsuspecting user to visit a specially crafted HTML document. A remote attacker can then execute an arbitrary code on a vulnerable system.
Computer users are hereby advised to un-install Java Software and plug-ins from their PCs until the fix is rolled out.
(With inputs from Reuters)
