The current platform is Java SE 8. Regularly scheduled updates to this release contain fixes for a set of critical bugs identified since the initial release of the platform. When an update release becomes available, it becomes the default download at the Java SE Downloads site.
The download site includes release notes that lists the bug fixes in the release. Each bug in the list is linked to the bug description in the bug database. The release notes also includes the list of fixes in previous update releases. If you encounter an issue, or suspect a bug, then, as an early step in the diagnosis, check the list of fixes that are available in the most recent update release.
Sometimes it is not obvious if an issue is a duplicate of a bug that has been already fixed. It is always recommended to test with the available latest update release to see if the issue persists.
