Apple on Monday released a major security update with fixes for a security defect the company says “may have been actively exploited” to plant malware on macOS and iOS devices.
As is customary, Apple did not share details on the in-the-wild attacks or the profile of the targets. The company did not release any IOCs (indicators of compromise) or any additional data to help defenders hunt for signs of infections.
Instead, a line in Apple advisory simply reads: “Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.”
[ Related: Google Confirms Sixth Zero-Day Chrome Attack in 2021 ]
This is the 13th zero-day vulnerability patched by Cupertino in the first half of this year.
The newly patched vulnerability — CVE-2021-30807 — was reported anonymously to Apple and is described as a memory corruption flaw that could be exploited to launch code execution attacks with kernel privileges.
The flaws were fixed in the macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 update and a separate patch bundle that brings iOS and iPad devices up to version 14.7.1.
The newest patch comes less than a week after Apple shipped iOS 14.7 with fixes for a wide range of security issues.
Related: Apple Ships Emergency Fixes for Under-Attack iOS Zero-Day
Related: Apple iOS 14.5 Patches 50 Security Vulnerabilities
Related: Apple Adds ‘BlastDoor’ to Secure iPhones From Zero-Click Attacks
Ryan Naraine is Editor-at-Large at SecurityWeek and host of the popular Security Conversations podcast series. He is a security community engagement expert who has built programs at major global brands, including Intel Corp., Bishop Fox and GReAT. Ryan is a founding-director of the Security Tinkerers non-profit, an advisor to early-stage entrepreneurs, and a regular speaker at security conferences around the world.
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