Apple reveals some serious security bugs, so be on your guard

Apple logo on the side of a building
(Image credit: zomby / Shutterstock)

Apple has announced it has fixed three zero-day vulnerabilities that various threat actors are using to target iPhones, Macs, and iPad devices. 

In a security advisory, the company said all three flaws were found in its WebKit browser engine. WebKit is Apple’s browser engine best known for being the underlying technology in the Safari web browser, as well as being used in all web browsers on iOS and iPadOS. 

As such, WebKit is an attractive target for threat actors looking for vulnerabilities that can be used to grant access to the target endpoint.

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In this particular instance, Apple found flaws tracked as CVE-2023-32409, CVE-2023-28204, and CVE-2023-32373.

One is a sandbox escape flaw, one an out-of-bounds read flaw that allows threat actors unabated access to sensitive information, and one a use-after-free vulnerability allowing for arbitrary code execution.

"Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited," Apple’s security advisory reads. As usual, the details about the groups leveraging the flaw, or their modus operandi, were not disclosed, so as to not give other threat actors any ideas while consumers and businesses update their devices. Hence, we don’t know if any new malware was found in the wild. 

Apple declined the media’s request for additional comments. 

The flaws were fixed in macOS Ventura 13.4, iOS and iPadOS 16.5, tvOS 16.5, watchOS 9.5, and Safari 16.5, the company confirmed.

Here is a full list of all affected devices:

  • iPhone 6s (all models), iPhone 7 (all models), iPhone SE (1st generation), iPad Air 2, iPad mini (4th generation), iPod touch (7th generation), and iPhone 8 and later
  • iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
  • Macs running macOS Big Sur, Monterey, and Ventura
  • Apple Watch Series 4 and later
  • Apple TV 4K (all models) and Apple TV HD

Via: BleepingComputer

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.