Data Protection

Apple Ships Emergency Fixes for Under-Attack iOS Zero-Day

iOS Vulnerabilities Exploited in the Wild

January 26, 2021

iOS Vulnerabilities Exploited in the Wild

Apple on Tuesday dropped emergency security patches for its flagship iOS and iPad OS platforms alongside a warning that hackers may already be exploiting three different security vulnerabilities.

The patches — contained in iOS 14.4 and iPadOS 14.4 — are currently being pushed to mobile users via the automatic updating mechanism.

Apple did not provide technical details of the vulnerabilities or the in-the-wild attacks, except to identify the flaws in the Kernel and in WebKit, the open-source web browser engine used in Safari, Mail, AppStore and a range of MacOS and iOS apps.

Here are the bare-bones details from Apple:

CVE-2021-1782 (Kernel) — Impact: A malicious application may be able to elevate privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. Available for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). Anonymously reported.

CVE-2021-1871 and CVE-2021-1870 (WebKit) — Impact: A remote attacker may be able to cause arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited. Available for: iPhone 6s and later, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch (7th generation). Reported by anonymous researchers.

Apple has promised additional details will be available soon.

Written By Ryan Naraine

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.

Latest News

Click to comment

Dealing With the Carcinization of Security

Varied viewpoints as related security concepts take on similar traits create substantial confusion among security teams trying to evaluate and purchase security technologies.

Marc Solomon

Stop, Collaborate and Listen: Disrupting Cybercrime Networks Requires Private-Public Cooperation and Information Sharing

No one combatting cybercrime knows everything, but everyone in the battle has some intelligence to contribute to the larger knowledge base.

Derek Manky

How the Atomized Network Changed Enterprise Protection

Our networks have become atomized which, for starters, means they’re highly dispersed. Not just in terms of the infrastructure – legacy, on-premises, hybrid, multi-cloud, and edge.

Matt Wilson

Mapping Threat Intelligence to the NIST Compliance Framework Part 2

How threat intelligence is critical when justifying budget for GRC personnel, and for threat intelligence, incident response, security operations and CISO buyers.

Landon Winkelvoss

Password Dependency: How to Break the Cycle

Hackers rarely hack in anymore. They log in using stolen, weak, default, or otherwise compromised credentials. That’s why it’s so critical to break the password dependency cycle. But how can this be done?

Torsten George

Application Security

Source Code Security Firm Cycode Launches With $4.6 Million in Funding

Cycode, a startup that provides solutions for protecting software source code, emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday with $4.6 million in seed funding.

Eduard KovacsSeptember 24, 2019

Nation-State

North Korean APT Expands Its Attack Repertoire

The North Korean APT tracked as TA444 is either moonlighting from its previous primary purpose, expanding its attack repertoire, or is being impersonated by...

Kevin TownsendJanuary 25, 2023

Identity & Access

Password Dependency: How to Break the Cycle

Hackers rarely hack in anymore. They log in using stolen, weak, default, or otherwise compromised credentials. That’s why it’s so critical to break the...

Torsten GeorgeJanuary 25, 2023