Govt: Security warning for these smartphone users – See details

Updated Sep 22, 2024 21:46 IST

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According to the warning, there have been several documented vulnerabilities in Apple products that might provide an attacker access to private customer data.

Shortly after the release of the iPhone 16, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology‘s (MeitY) Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), a cyber security watchdog, issued a high severity advisory for users of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. According to the warning, there have been several documented vulnerabilities in Apple products that might provide an attacker access to private customer data.

What can these vulnerabilities be used for?

These vulnerabilities, according to CERT-In, could be used by attackers to “execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, cause denial of service (DoS) conditions, bypass authentication, gain elevated privileges and perform spoofing attacks on the targeted system” in addition to gaining access to sensitive data.

Who does the vulnerability affect?

Apple iOS versions prior to 18 and iPadOS versions prior to 18

Apple iOS versions prior to 17.7 and iPadOS versions prior to 17.7

Apple macOS Sonoma versions prior to 14.7

Apple macOS Ventura versions prior to 13.7

Apple macOS Sequoia versions prior to 15

Apple tvOS versions prior to 18

Apple watchOS versions prior to 11

Apple Safari versions prior to 18

Apple Xcode versions prior to 16

Apple visionOS versions prior to 2

What actions are appropriate for Apple users?

According to CERT-In, Apple has patched these vulnerabilities in their most recent software updates. As a precaution, users of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, watchOS, Safari, Xcode, and visionOS are advised to update to the most recent software update from the Cupertino-based tech giant to ensure their security.

Notably, earlier this month, CERT-In had issued a warning on vulnerabilities in the Google Chrome browser. According to the agency, these vulnerabilities only affected users of Linux versions earlier than 128.0.6613.119 and Windows and macOS versions earlier than 128.0.6613.119/.120.