Apple’s security fix means it’s time to update your devices

A newly launched set of security fixes Apple is “recommended for all users”, which means that for anyone with an iPhone, iPad, Mac or Apple Watch, it’s probably time for an update.

According to Apple, the patch will fix a security bug that left WebKit – the engine that powers Apple’s Safari browser – vulnerable to memory corruption. After users visit a webpage that contains the malicious code, the vulnerability can be exploited by attackers, who can access the affected device and write the malicious code to it.

If security fixes are applied, users of iPhones and iPads will be update for iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1, watchOS users would be upgrading to 7.3.2 and macOS Big Sur would be upgrading to version 11.2.3.

Although reported by Google and Microsoft, the bugs are not believed to have been actively exploited – unlike the three separate zero-day security holes discovered in January. All three previous bugs had was “actively exploited”, Apple reported at the time, by hackers who found a way to chain the three vulnerabilities to access the underlying iPhone software.

Apple users can protect their devices by going to System Preferences, and so clicking Software update to check if any are available.