Oracle fixed a security flaw in its Java software on Sunday, after the Department of Homeland Security warned users to disable Java software completely, citing a security hole that allows hackers to take control of their machines. “Java 7 Update 10 and earlier contain an unspecified vulnerability that can allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary code on a vulnerable system,” the agency said in an alert issued last week. “This and previous Java vulnerabilities have been widely targeted by attackers, and new Java vulnerabilities are likely to be discovered.” A European security researcher who blogs under the name Kafeine first discovered the vulnerability and posted it to his blog in a rare alert on Thursday. The homeland security agency said that it had confirmed that Microsoft Windows, Apple’s Mac OS X and Linux platforms were all affected and that it was “unaware of a practical solution to this problem.”

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