Tested JDK Bundle : JDK7-b109
Applets trying to communicate to java servlet using http or https are failing to work with JDK7. This is a regression as compare to 6u22/6u21.
Try to load an applet, testing the applet/servlet communication scenario, with 6u22 and then try to load again with JDK7 without clearing the deployment cache then it's getting loaded fine. But if cache is clean then it's failing to load by throwing exceptions.

Steps to reproduce:
1) try to load following applet inside the browser using JDK 7
http://nicole1.sfbay.sun.com:8080/plugin_tests/HTTP_HTTPS/HTTP_HTTPS/html/ImageTestBuild.html
If applet throws following excpetion and fail to load then bug is reproduced
java.lang.IllegalArgumentException: input == null!
at javax.imageio.ImageIO.read(Unknown Source)
at ImageTest.doTest(ImageTest.java:62)
at ImageTest.start(ImageTest.java:39)
at sun.plugin2.applet.Plugin2Manager$AppletExecutionRunnable.run(Unknown Source)
at java.lang.Thread.run(Unknown Source)

Following test from plugin automated testbase is effected due to this bug
HTTP_HTTPS/HTTP_ImageTest

Link to Java sources:
http://sqeweb.sfbay.sun.com/deployment2/jitu/latest_ws_test/6/deployment/src/plugin/HTTP_HTTPS/HTTP_HTTPS/src/ImageTest.java
http://sqeweb.sfbay.sun.com/deployment2/jitu/latest_ws_test/6/deployment/src/plugin/HTTP_HTTPS/HTTP_HTTPS/src/servlets/ServletImageTest.java
Root cause of this issue also seems to be same as that of 6964733