Thread: Patching Java on my system

Hi,

I am currently scanning images for missing Java updates and had a few queries :

Query 1
I have two images :
One contains Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_12 the other contains Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_22
As per the Oracle support site, the latest versions of Sun Java Runtime Environment publicly available for 1.4.0 and 1.5.0 are : Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_19 and Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_22 respectievely.
However, there were more updates that were released for Java namely Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_42 and Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_51 . Are these latest updates available only to customers with Extended Support?

Query 2
Is it true that if the JDK is installed on the system, then it is not advisable to patch the JRE to a higher version as it breaks the JDK?

Query 3
If I have Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_12/1.5.0_22 installed on my system, can I install jre6u45 (Java runtime environment 6 update 45) or jre7u51 on this system? Will it lead to any adverse effects?


Thanks in advance
Algernon

Welcome to the forum! Please read this topic to learn how to post code in code or highlight tags and other useful info for new members.

Can you tell us a bit about what you use Java for? Why do you have multiple JREs on your computer? Do you think/know you need them? If so, why? Why do you have old versions of the JRE? Why not use the latest, 1.7 or even 1.8 (might be too soon for 1.8)? Do you need the JDK? The JDK includes the JRE.

Originally Posted by Algernon

However, there were more updates that were released for Java namely Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_42 and Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_51 . Are these latest updates available only to customers with Extended Support?

Any update that is not shown to be available in the archive I believe are available only to commercial fee-paying customers. See also Oracle Java SE Support Roadmap.

Originally Posted by Algernon

Is it true that if the JDK is installed on the system, then it is not advisable to patch the JRE to a higher version as it breaks the JDK?

The JRE should be updatable independently of the JDK, and there shouldn't be any side effects. If you install the JDK, you will find within the JDK installation directory there is a jre subdirectory, and I'm pretty sure JRE updates are applied to the subdirectory only.

Originally Posted by Algernon

If I have Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_12/1.5.0_22 installed on my system, can I install jre6u45 (Java runtime environment 6 update 45) or jre7u51 on this system? Will it lead to any adverse effects?

In theory there shouldn't be adverse effects, but in the desktop machine context I have come across cases where they do, e.g., different browsers in the system use different Java plugin versions. Having multiple Java versions in a desktop system would give Support personnel low confidence of the system's integrity when complex/strange problems are encountered, in addition to the longer diagnostic time to rule out the cause being the 2 or more co-installed Java versions. For the latter, you may be required to uninstall all Java versions and reinstall only 1 to confirm the problem is not caused by co-installed versions. For this reason I will always recommend to have 1 and only 1 Java version installed if at all possible.

In a server environment it is quite common to have each Java-based server application to install and run its own copy and version of JRE within the applications' directory structure. I have not come across a case where the multiple copies of JREs installed in this manner interfere with each other, and so it should be safe in this context.

Hi Greg,

Thank you for your prompt reply.
The organisation where I work (ATM software industry) at uses JRE components in our product stack. The different software products in our software stack use different versions of Java based on their requirements.
Currently I have scanned an image that contains Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.4.2_12 and Sun Java Runtime Environment 1.5.0_22
Only the JRE is present in our images. Not the JDK.
I wanted to know that if I upgrade the system from JRE 1.4.2 / 1.5.0 to JRE 1.7 (or maybe 1.8) , will it cause any adverse effects on the system? And will any features from 1.4/1.5 be obsolete if I upgrade to 1.7 /1.8 ?

Also is the upgrade from JRE 1.4/1.5 to JRE 1.7 just a feature upgrade or will it include fixes for security vulnerabilities as well?

Thanks,
Algernon

--- Update ---

Hi Jashburn,

Thanks a lot for your reply. It really simplified a lot of stuff!

Can you please answer this as well?
"Is the upgrade from JRE 1.4/1.5 to JRE 1.7 just a feature upgrade or will it include fixes for security vulnerabilities as well?"

I wanted to patch my system with the following update :
Oracle Java SE CPU January 2014: JAVA

Originally Posted by Algernon

"Is the upgrade from JRE 1.4/1.5 to JRE 1.7 just a feature upgrade or will it include fixes for security vulnerabilities as well?"

You can expect each Java version upgrade to contain fixes (security or otherwise) from earlier versions up to the point where the upgrade is released. There will be some incompatibilities with each upgrade; known incompatibilities are mentioned in the upgrade's release notes. See (focus on compatibility and known issues):

• Java SE 6 Release Notes.
• JDK 7 Release Notes
• Java SE 7 Update Release Notes
• Latest JDK 8 Release Notes

(Useful Internet search term: "java release notes".)

It is also likely that an upgrade contains some regression, and so it is always necessary to regression-test applications affected by the upgrade.

Thanks a lot jashburn. HElped a lot.

This thread can be closed for now. I will get back if I need any more information.