If you’re looking for brand new features to play with on your Apple devices, today’s updates from Apple will let you down. However, they are just as important to install on your Mac, iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch today as they fix an important vulnerability.
In fact, they all fix it the same single vulnerability for any device: A WebKit issue reported by researchers from both Google and Microsoft. Its severity is rated as “high,” and the’s easy to see why:
The vulnerability could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code on the target system.
The vulnerability exists because of a boundary error in the handling of web content in WebKit. A remote attacker could create a specially crafted web page, trick the victim into opening it, trigger memory corruption, and execute arbitrary code on the target system.
Successful exploitation of this vulnerability could result in complete compromise of the vulnerable system.
While it’s unlikely that you, a normal internet connoisseur, would come across a site like this, there is absolutely no reason to delay a quick update of your devices today. The process couldn’t be easier:
- iPhone / iPad: Settings app> General> Software update
- Apple Watch: View app> General> Software update
- Mac: Apple logo> System Preferences> Software Update
When you go to update your devices, update your iPhone and iPad to iOS and iPadOS 14.4.1 respectively. Your Apple Watch will be updated to 7.3.2 and macOS Big Sur should now be running OS version 11.2.3.
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Supported devices include anything equal to or later than the iPhone 6s, iPad Air 2, or iPad Mini 4. And the iPod Touch (7th generation) is also eligible for the update. The Apple Watch Series 3 and later smartwatches are all eligible for the update. On the Mac side, all you have to do is run macOS Big Sur, that works with quite a large number of desktops and laptops that are a handful of years old.