Apple on Wednesday issued an update that plugs at least two dozen security holes in the version of Java that runs on Mac OS X systems. Mozilla also pushed out patches to correct a number of security and stability issues with its latest version of the Firefox Web browser. By my count, Apple’s Java updates address 24 separate security flaws in its implementation of Java. The majority of these flaws were fixed in security updates that Sun Microsystems has been shipping since April, but Apple maintains its own version of Java and is responsible for managing those updates for OS X systems. The Java update is slightly different depending on whether you’re an OS X 10.4 (Tiger) or 10.5 (Leopard) user. Either way, the Java patch is available through Software Update or directly from Apple Downloads. Firefox is configured to install all updates automatically (after the browser is closed out