A single major security bug fix appears to be the reason for the newest version of Java 8: Update 77.

The release notes don’t provide much useful information, and neither does the security alert for the bug addressed in the new version.

If you’re still using a web browser with Java enabled, you should consider disabling it. At least configure it as ‘click to play’, so that Java content doesn’t load and play automatically on any web page you visit. If you’re not sure whether Java is enabled in your browser, find out by visiting Check-and-Secure.