Apple patches vulnerabilities in iOS 16, iOS 15.7, macOS Monterey 12.6, Big Sur 11.7 and other products

Apple has released security updates for Apple iOS 16, iOS 15.7, macOS Monterey 12.6, macOS Big Sur 11.7, Safari 15.6, and other products. Apple also warned two zero-day vulnerabilities may have been exploited in the wild.

A remote attacker could exploit some of these vulnerabilities to take control of unpatched systems.

iOS 16

Apple released a new version of iOS 16 comes with new features that enhance iPhone “with all‑new personalization features, deeper intelligence, and seamless ways to communicate and share.”

The update also comes with fixes for 11 vulnerabilities and the following security features:

  • Rapid Security Response: Get important security improvements to your devices even faster. These improvements can be applied automatically between standard software updates.
  • Landscape Face ID: Face ID works in landscape on supported iPhone models.
  • Lockdown Mode: This new security mode provides extreme protection for the very small number of users who face grave, targeted threats to their digital security. It further hardens your device’s defenses and strictly limits certain functions, sharply reducing the attack surface that could potentially be exploited by highly targeted mercenary spyware.

iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7

The latest iOS 15.7 and iPadOS 15.7 security update released on September 12, 2022 addressed 11 vulnerabilities. Four of those may allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code (two with kernel privileges).

Apple also warned CVE-2022-32917 “may have been actively exploited.”

The update is available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro (all models), iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation).

macOS Monterey 12.6

Moreover, Apple also released a security update for macOS Monterey 12.6 that patched eight vulnerabilities, four that could allow a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Apple warned CVE-2022-32894 and CVE-2022-32917 “may have been actively exploited.”

The updates also fixed other vulnerabilities in ATS, iMovie, Maps, Media Library, and PackageKit.

macOS Big Sur 11.7

In addition, Apple also released a security update for macOS Big Sur 11.7 that patched ten vulnerabilities, two that have known exploits in the wild and could allow a malicious application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges.

Apple warned CVE-2022-32894 and CVE-2022-32917 “may have been actively exploited.”

Other security updates

Finally, Apple released additional security updates for Safari 16 (available for macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey). Other updates will soon be available for tvOS 16 and watchOS 9.

Readers can check out the Apple’s Security Updates page for more details.

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