Beware iPhone users! These security flaws could expose your data
What's the story
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued a high-severity alert, warning Apple users about a number of security vulnerabilities in the company's devices.
The flaws could potentially allow hackers to steal data or take control of iPhones, Macs, and other Apple devices.
CERT-In's advisory is particularly aimed at individuals and organizations using multiple products from the company.
Risk assessment
Advisory highlights potential risks
CERT-In's advisory details the risks posed by the discovered vulnerabilities.
They could let attackers access sensitive data, execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, trigger denial of service (DoS) conditions, bypass authentication, gain elevated privileges, and perform spoofing attacks on the targeted system.
The agency has rated these vulnerabilities high and notes that exploiting them could pose a serious risk to individual and enterprise users.
Call to action
CERT-In urges immediate action to mitigate risks
CERT-In has urged users of older versions of iOS, macOS, Safari, or other Apple platforms mentioned above to update their devices immediately.
The advisory warns that without the necessary updates, users are at risk of potential data breaches, loss of device control, and service disruptions.
The vulnerabilities affect a wide range of devices such as iPhones, iPads, MacBooks, Apple TVs, and Vision Pro headsets.
Flaw details
Technical issues behind vulnerabilities
CERT-In has attributed these security holes to several technical glitches in Apple's software code.
The issues range from type confusion errors, use-after-free flaws, out-of-bounds reads/writes, improper input checks, buffer overflows and path handling problems.
The agency says such vulnerabilities can be exploited remotely or locally, depending on the flaw, and are particularly dangerous when users delay installing security updates.
Update guidance
Apple has released necessary security updates
Apple has already rolled out the necessary security updates to fix the identified vulnerabilities. Users can find detailed guidance on Apple's official security update page.
To update an iPhone or iPad, head over to Settings > General > Software Update, while Mac users have to open System Settings > General > Software Update.
For Apple TV and other devices, head over to the system update option under settings.