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I came across this "somewhere" (it's supposed to be an excerpt from a biography) -
Rowling's quality control has become legendary, as her obsession with accuracy. She's thrilled with Stephen Fry's taped version of the books and outraged that an Italian dust jacket showed Harry minus his glasses. "Don't they understand that the glasses are the clue to his vulnerability."
So what is JK Rowling referring to here - How are his glasses a clue to his vulnerability? What Vulnerability?
As has been noted in other aspects of her opinions, Rowling is a member of an older generation with attitudes to some aspects of modern culture that could at best be called old fashioned.
Wearing glasses being a sign of weakness is possibly the mildest of those old fashioned attitudes. See also Clark Kent vs. Superman (glasses on vs. glasses off) and the old phrase "you wouldn't hit a guy with glasses*".
The origins of this trope probably has roots in two things from Western culture: first, there was a time when wearing glasses was considered to be a sign of enfeeblement, as the only people who would need glasses were old folks, people with truly severe sight disabilities, and people that read too many books. - TV tropes (link above).
*TV tropes, you were warned
A quote from a BBC interview she did in 2005 supports Separatrix's answer:
Eun Ji An for Raincoast.com, Canada - I was wondering why Harry had glasses?
JK Rowling: Because I had glasses all through my childhood and I was sick and tired of the person in the books who wore the glasses was always the brainy one and it really irritated me and I wanted to read about a hero wearing glasses.
Glasses - Before & After:
When we first meet Harry Potter his glasses are taped. They are reflective of how he has not been cared for, even to the point of emotional abuse by his begrudging Aunt and Uncle.
On the train ride into Hogwarts for the first time, he meets Hermione Granger, who performs the first truly generative act of magic Harry ever sees. She uses magic to repair his glasses.
Magic fixes his glasses. Magic, as an opportunity, is an escape from his abusive family.
Tom Riddle was also a student of Hogwarts, but is a tortured soul. The reason it is a clue to Harry's vulnerability is the beaten up taped glasses are representative of the risk that Harry could have gone down a path of dark magic himself, considering the nature of his upbringing.
So in summary his vulnerability is the emotional abuse he has experienced, in his home setting away from Hogwarts.
Both the link with the perceived fragility/physical limitation as "humanization" of an otherwise (too) powerful character and the trademark come to mind. I will draw a few lines on a piece of paper and ask you what hero/story cycle they mention: first, I draw a capital S . Superman, right? Yup. Then I draw a stylized bat. Batman, right? Yup. I draw a circle with two straight tangent lines. Green Lantern? Yup...so on But again not only "superheroes" need a trademark. I draw a pipe, a loupe and an old style hat... Sherlock Holmes, right? Yup... Now I draw a lightning bolt and a pair of Lennon style glasses. Guess who? That is why the author made such a fuss about the importance of Harry's glasses. Trademark item, emblem or symbol. Tell me it's Harry Potter without saying Harry Potter..
In most stories, glasses symbolize intelligence, foresight into the future, and enlightenment. But glasses also mean that if they are taken away, the person who needs them will be either hobbled or in need of new glasses . . . but none of these apply as a "vulnerability".
Relatively long answer, if unwilling to read, go to the conclusion.
Disclaimer: I do not know if JK Rowling meant this as I cannot find it in an interview
From my reading, I came to believe that Harry's glasses represented more than just glasses. In Diagon Alley when Harry's glasses break, he is alone (or as alone as he will be at that moment).
Harry waited for a minute in case he came back, then, quietly as he could, slipped out of the cabinet, past the glass cases, and out of the shop door.
Clutching his broken glasses to his face, Harry stared around.
He had emerged into a dingy alleyway that seemed to be made up entirely of shops devoted to the Dark Arts. The one he’d just left, Borgin and Burkes, looked like the largest, but the opposite was a nasty window display of shrunken heads and, two doors down, a large cage was alive with gigantic black spiders. Two shabby-looking wizards were watching him from the shadow of a doorway, muttering to each other. Feeling jumpy, Harry set off, trying to hold his glasses on straight and hoping against hope he’d be able to find a way out of there.
An old wooden street sign hanging over a shop selling poisonous candles told him he was in Knockturn Alley. This didn’t help, as Harry had never heard of such a place. He supposed he hadn’t spoken clearly enough through his mouthful of ashes back in the Weasleys’ fire. Trying to stay calm, he wondered what to do.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The other times that his glasses break, Harry is usually alone (or feeling alone), such as when Dudley and his gang beat him up.
Perhaps it had something to do with living in a dark cupboard, but Harry had always been small and skinny for his age. He looked even smaller and skinnier than he really was because all he had to wear were old clothes of Dudley’s, and Dudley was about four times bigger than he was. Harry had a thin face, knobbly knees, black hair, and bright green eyes. He wore round glasses held together with a lot of Scotch tape because of all the times Dudley had punched him on the nose. The only thing Harry liked about his own appearance was a very thin scar on his forehead that was shaped like a bolt of lightning. He had had it as long as he could remember, and the first question he could ever remember asking his Aunt Petunia was how he had gotten it.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
The vulnerability I believe JK Rowling to be saying is Harry's friendships/relations to other characters. Harry's glasses are usually broken or gone when he is alone. The glasses seem to be a symbol of Harry's friendships and how delicate they are. With Voldemort rising, everything Harry cares about is in danger and can be destroyed in a moment - just like his glasses.
Besides being destroyed, Harry will do anything to save his friends, as seen in book 7 where he chooses to sacrifice himself like his mother did. This is exploited by Voldemort (which backfired on him, so this is both a vulnerability and a strength of Harry's).
vulnerability, I thought it was showing his relationship with the Dursleys. They afforded him only the cheapest/worst glasses and when they broke he had to use tape. The glasses are a symbol that he is unsupported.