Fast update in between: Apple presented updates for all of its central operating systems on Monday evening – mainly for security reasons. The current versions are iOS and iPadOS 16.6, macOS 13.5, tvOS 16.6 and watchOS 9.6. In addition, iOS and iPadOS 15 (on 15.7.8), macOS Monterey (on macOS 12.6.8) and macOS Big Sur (on 11.7.9) updated.
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macOS 13.5 with the most fixes
The only statement that Apple makes about the content of the updates is a standard statement from the company: “This update provides important bug fixes and security updates and is recommended for all users.” There is no further information on the included function-level fixes. As usual, Apple gives details on the security-relevant side in the corresponding package inserts. So come macOS 13.5 with nearly 30 patched security holes.
For two of them – one in the kernel and one in the Safari engine WebKit – Apple has reports that the flaws are already “actively exploited”. (However, the WebKit vulnerability has already been patched via “Rapid Security Response”.) The other bugs affect numerous areas. Many were in WebKit, some in the kernel, others in curl, Find My, PackageKit and Shortcuts, among others. Several of the bugs allow attackers to run code with kernel or root privileges.
iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Apple TV
The list of in iOS and iPadOS 16.6 fixed bug is about half as long as macOS 13.5. But again, there are zero-day reports of the same bugs (and a quick fix for the WebKit vulnerability). Apple carries out a dozen fixes on watchOS 9.6 on at tvOS 16.6 there are only eight including the two zero days.
Interesting: There is a hole in Apple’s Neural Engine that attackers could use to run arbitrary code with kernel privileges in Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. All of the WebKit bugs can only be fixed by importing the new operating system. However, they are not included in the updates for Monterey and Big Sur, which recently received a version of Safari 16.5.2. It remains unclear whether all bug fixes are included.
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(bsc)