Apple today released emergency security updates to fix two zero-day vulnerabilities previously exploited by attackers to hack into iPhones, iPads or Macs.
Zero-day vulnerabilities are security flaws that attackers or researchers are aware of before the software vendor has discovered or been able to patch them. In many cases, zero-days have public proof-of-concept exploits or are actively used in attacks.
Today, Apple released macOS Monterey 12.5.1 and iOS 15.6.1/iPadOS 15.6.1 to fix two zero-day vulnerabilities that are reported to have been actively exploited.
The two vulnerabilities are the same for all three operating systems, with the first being tracked as CVE-2022-32894. This vulnerability is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in the operating system kernel.
The kernel is a program that acts as the core part of an operating system and has the highest privileges in macOS, iPadOS, and iOS.
An application, such as malware, can use this vulnerability to run code with kernel privileges. Since this is the highest level of privilege, a process could execute any command on the device and effectively take full control of it.
The second zero-day vulnerability is CVE-2022-32893 and is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in WebKit, the web browser engine used by Safari and other apps that access the Internet.
Apple says this flaw would allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code and, since it’s in the web engine, it is likely to be exploited remotely by visiting a maliciously crafted website.
The bugs were reported by anonymous researchers and fixed by Apple in iOS 15.6.1, iPadOS 15.6.1, and macOS Monterey 12.5.1 with improved border control for both bugs.
The list of devices affected by both vulnerabilities is:
- Macs with macOS Monterey
- iPhone 6s and later
- iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation).
Apple has disclosed active exploitation in the wild, but has not released additional information about these attacks.
It is likely that these zero-days were only used for targeted attacks, but it is still highly recommended to install today’s security updates as soon as possible.
Seven zero-days patched by Apple this year
In March, Apple patched two more zero-day bugs used in the Intel Graphics Driver (CVE-2022-22674) and AppleAVD (CVE-2022-22675), which could also be used to run code with Kernel privileges .
In January, Apple patched two more actively exploited zero-days, allowing attackers to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges (CVE-2022-22587) and track web browsing activity and user identities in real time (CVE-2022-22594) . ).
In February, Apple released security updates to fix a new zero-day bug exploited to hack iPhones, iPads, and Macs, leading to OS crashes and remote code execution on compromised devices after processing maliciously. crafted web content.
#Apple #Security #Updates #Fix #Days #Hack #iPhones #Macs