14 DAY TRIAL // Apple has released an iOS update to address the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities on iPhone and iPad, and the company recommends all users to install it as fast as possible.
Last week, Apple confirmed that all iPhone models are exposed to exploits based on Meltdown and Spectre security flaws, as all devices, despite using A-series chips developed in-house by the parent company, rely on technology provided by ARM. In its turn, ARM confirmed that a series of chipsets were impacted by the two vulnerabilities, including those that were used by Apple for the development of its own hardware.
iOS 11.2.2 can be downloaded right now on all supported iPhone and iPad models, and Apple says that with this release, it’s making changes to Safari browser to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks.
“iOS 11.2.2 includes security improvements to Safari and WebKit to mitigate the effects of Spectre (CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715),” Apple says in the release notes of the new update.
The update is shipped to iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod touch 6th generation.
No known exploits against Apple devices
Apple officially acknowledged Meltdown and Spectre bugs last week, but the company said at that point that no exploits were aimed at its devices, adding that iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2 already included code to block attacks based on these two vulnerabilities. The firm, however, promised further updates to secure devices.
“All Mac systems and iOS devices are affected, but there are no known exploits impacting customers at this time. Since exploiting many of these issues requires a malicious app to be loaded on your Mac or iOS device, we recommend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store,” Apple said last week.
Apple said in its original advisory that there are bigger changes for Meltdown to be exploited against its users, adding that Spectre was a vulnerability that’s particularly difficult to take advantage of on iPhones and Macs.