In a latest development, Apple has released software updates for iPhones and iPads which seems to be light on features, but critically important from a security perspective.
Apple Released Critical Updates for Security
Apple started rolling out these updates — iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 on Friday.
Apple users should install them on your iPhone and iPad as soon as possible to protect your devices from attacks.
Moving ahead, Apple said that these updates patch two security flaws that “may have been actively exploited,” as per the official release note.
It is noteworthy here that the iPhone maker doesn’t disclose security issues before conducting thorough research, both in-house and in collaboration with cybersecurity experts.
In simple words, if Apple publicly announces a security flaw, and it comes with a “Critical Vulnerability” badge then you should grab the fix as soon as Apple makes them available.
Security Flaws
These security flaws Labeled CVE-2023-28206 and CVE-2023-28205, have been patched with the latest updates.
Here, the former one flagged by a cybersecurity expert affiliated with Amnesty International, grants kernel privilege to a bad actor.
Notably, a vulnerability of this caliber is extremely dangerous.
Basically, it allows a hacker to run malicious code at the very fundamental level of an operating system to wreak havoc by exploiting root access, targeting weaknesses in code, and gaining varied levels of control over your device.
While the second vulnerability affects the WebKit engine that handles Apple’s web browser, it could also allow remote code execution.
This allows a malicious party to remotely run bad code on the target device for goals like stealing sensitive data.
Security Patch Release
Fortunately, Apple has finally released a fix for both the vulnerabilities, which affect the iPhone 8 (and models launched after it, like the iPhone 14.) and the third-gen iPad Air, fifth-gen iPad, and fifth-gen iPad mini, alongside their respective successors.
In the case of older iPhones and iPads, Apple released the iOS 15.7.5 and iPadOS 15.7.5 updates on Monday.
For the MacBook users, they should also take note, as Apple has released macOS 13.3.1 with fixes for the same vulnerabilities mentioned above.
iOS 16.4.1 Updates
If you haven’t installed the iOS 16.4.1 and iPadOS 16.4.1 updates yet, you can simply do so by following the path below.
Go to Settings > General > Software Update.
It is noteworthy here that the best way forward is to enable automatic updates on your iPhone or iPad. Let’s go through the steps to do it.
- Open the Settings app
- On the home page, tap on General, followed by Software Update.
- The page will show the status of Automatic Updates.
- If it is disabled, tap on it and enable the toggles that will make sure your phone downloads and also installs all the software updates automatically.
So why wait! go forth and update your iPhone, iPad, or MacBook!
