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August 8, 2000 -- Sun Microsystems is investigating a security flaw that has popped up involving the use of Java in Netscape's Navigator browser.
The bug, known as Brown Orifice (BO), makes use of Netscape's Java implementation to let an unsigned Java applet read and dispense files from a user's computer.
The issue can be prevented by disabling Java, but Sun and Netscape are still working on confirming and finding a solution for the bug.
"We take any kind of security issue very seriously and we're working with Netscape right now to ascertain if this is a security issue," said David Harrah, a spokesperson for Sun Microsystems. "If it is, we hope to have a patch out that's downloadable for people to bring in as soon as possible."
By exploiting the Java vulnerability, an outside server is capable of accessing...