Apple announced a series of patches this week for several of iOS zero-day flaws that have already been used by malicious parties to sneakily install malware and steal user data. Therefore, it is important that you update your phone as soon as you can.
iOS 16.5.1, which is now available for download if you have an iPhone 8 or newer, fixes a critical security vulnerability that allows hackers to access all of your personal data saved on your iPhone.
This particular vulnerability was discovered in Russia, where thousands of Russian government officials' iPhones were allegedly infected with malware. It's a kernel flaw that allows bad actors to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, which means hackers can run whatever code they want on a targeted device.
According to The Washington Post, the attackers have been sending iMessages with malicious attachments that corrupt and provide access to their targets' iPhones. The latest iOS patch from Apple also addresses a vulnerability in WebKit, the foundation that allows developers to display webpages on Apple devices. Again, it allowed hackers to obtain personal data from users by executing arbitrary code on their target's phone.
The tech giant stated on the support page for the upgrade that the attacks have only been observed on devices running iOS 15.7 or earlier. Even while this indicates that the company is not aware of any vulnerabilities on iOS devices running newer versions, those systems may still be exposed. Because of this, Apple urges all users to download iOS 16.5.1 even if their iPhone is already shielded from the aforementioned vulnerabilities.
This security concern is being taken seriously even by American authorities. Federal agencies were asked to download the most recent version by July 13 after the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency added the two exploits to its list of known exploited vulnerabilities.
Even if you don't think you're a target for malware, now is a good time to upgrade your device if you have one of the best iPhones. To install iOS 16.5.1 on your device right now, go to Settings, General, and then Software Update.
