CYBER-EXPERTS have issued an urgent warning to millions of iPhone owners.
Anyone with an iPhone is being urged to check their handset for a new software update – and install it as soon as possible.
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The update includes an important security fix designed to block hackers from exploiting a “hole” in iPhone defences.
“Apple revealed that it is aware that threat actors are actively exploiting the vulnerability,” Malwarebytes Lab cyber-expert Pieter Arntz wrote.
“The bug was found in WebKit which is Apple’s web rendering engine. In other words, WebKit is the browser engine that powers Safari and other apps.
“Apple says the impact of the vulnerability is that processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution.
iPhone owners are now being urged to install either the iOS 16.1.2 or iOS 16.2 updates.
To do that, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update and follow the instructions.
Cyber-experts say that the hack could allow hackers to execute code on your iPhone.
This potentially allows them to take control of the device – and even spy on you.
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“The underlying issue was what is called a “type confusion” issue, which was addressed with improved state handling,” Pieter explained.
“Type confusion vulnerabilities are programming flaws that happen when a piece of code doesn’t verify the type of object that is passed to it before using it.
“Type confusion can allow an attacker to feed function pointers or data into the wrong piece of code. In some cases, this can lead to code execution.”
Apple says that the vulnerability may have been actively exploited by hackers.
That means some iPhone owners may have already fallen victim to an attack.
It’s not publicly known who was responsible, but cyber-experts think highly sophisticated attackers were behind the “exploitation”.
“Another clue was given when Apple revealed that security researchers at Google’s Threat Analysis Group, which investigates nation state-backed spyware, hacking, and cyberattacks, discovered and reported the WebKit bug,” Pieter noted.
“That might give you an idea about who was using the exploit in the wild.”
If you have an eligible iPhone, you must update your device immediately.
Here’s a list of the all the supported devices:
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone Xs
- iPhone XS Max
- iPhone XR
- iPhone X
- iPhone 8
- iPhone 8 Plus
- iPhone SE (2nd generation or later)
If your iPhone is too old to be updated, you should consider upgrading as soon as possible.
Otherwise you may be in danger of hack attacks that your device can’t defend against.
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
