Yesterday saw a surprise release of iOS 17.1.2.
This update comes hot on the heels of 17.1.1 which came out in early November 2023, and acts as a snack before the much-anticipated release of 17.2, coming later this month.
That one will bring a raft of new features such as the journaling app and the ability for the iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max to record spatial video for the Vision Pro, as well as even more bug fixes.
OK, but what's in iOS 17.1.2?
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The important takeaway here is the phrase "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited" for both.
This means that this is a bug fix for a problem that the bad guys are currently leveraging to get into users' devices.
These bugs can be used to expose your sensitive data while you are simply browsing the web.
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Don't think that if you're using Google Chrome or some other browser on your iPhone that you're safe, because you're not.
Every third-party web browser and app that accesses the web that's available for iOS and iPadOS use Apple's WebKit engine, so this is a huge attack surface.
If you'd heard rumors that the next iOS update was going to be what Apple calls an RSR patch, updates that only contain security patches and are much smaller than regular updates and designed for rapid installation, you're not alone because I'd heard the same rumors.
Instead what we have is a standard update that only contains bug fixes.
It's not just the iPhone that's affected.
There is an updated Safari 17.1.2 for Macs running macOS Monterey and macOS Ventura.
To update your iPhone or iPad, tap Settings and then General and Software Update and follow the prompts to get your device up to date.
To update your Mac, fire up the System Settings app, then go to General, and then Software Update.
This Cyber News was published on www.zdnet.com. Publication date: Fri, 01 Dec 2023 23:06:57 +0000