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Apple users have been warned about a major security lapse that can be exploited by hackers to gain access and steal data.
The Indian govt has alerted iPhone, Mac and iPad users about the issues
If you own the new iPhone 16 Pro model or any older MacBook, the Indian government has issued a major security alert that needs your attention. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued the alert with a high severity rating this November.
The security issue is really big because it affects major parts of Apple devices, including iPhones, iPads and Macs as well. Here is a detailed look at the vulnerability, which devices are impacted and what you should do to protect your iPhone from these risks.
Apple iPhone Security Risk: What Is The Issue
The biggest issue with these security risks is that the MacBook users with the Intel-based models could have been exploited already, which means the action is really urgent in their case.
The CERT-In bulletin highlights these issues in points here:
Arbitrary Code Execution Vulnerability – It exists in JavaScriptCore, which is used by Apple’s Safari browser and other applications to process JavaScript. An attacker could exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code execution by sending maliciously crafted web content to the affected device.
Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability – It exists in WebKit, the engine that powers Safari and web content on Apple devices. An attacker could exploit this issue by sending maliciously crafted web content to trigger cross-site scripting (XSS) on the affected device.
The zero-day nature of the security issue for Mac can be patched up with the urgent security update released by Apple in the last few days.
Apple Security Issue: Which Devices Affected
Now that you know the extent of the security concerns, here are the details of the devices that are affected by the risks:
– iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 18.1.1
– iOS and iPadOS versions prior to 17.7.2
– macOS Sequoia versions prior to 15.1.1
– visionOS versions prior to 2.1.1
– Safari versions prior to 18.1.1
If your iPhone, iPad, MacBook or the Safari browser is running on any of the given versions, we recommend you to install the urgent patch right away. You can get this done by going to Settings – General – Software update and install the available version for the device.