Government warns iPhone, iPad, Mac users of high-risk security issues

The iPhone has security flaws that could potentially allow an attacker to access sensitive information and bypass restrictions, according to the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In). The government’s online threat monitoring agency has released an advisory, underscoring that several Apple products have multiple vulnerabilities with “high” severity and their owners must update their devices urgently. The advisory comes right when Apple ’s new iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro models went on sale in India.

The affected devices include the iPhones running iOS versions prior to iOS 18 and iOS 17.7. While that likely omits the iPhone 16, previous models, such as the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Pro, may carry the vulnerabilities CERT-In has listed in the advisory, which also pointed out that other Apple products, such as iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch, may also be affected. Essentially, devices running previous software versions that do not likely have security patches yet, are affected.

“Multiple vulnerabilities have been reported in Apple products which could allow an attacker to access sensitive information, execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, cause denial of service (DoS) conditions, bypass authentication, gain elevated privileges, and perform spoofing attacks on the targeted system,” said CERT-In’s advisory.

Affected Apple products

iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Apple TV running the following software versions are affected, per the advisory:

• iOS: Versions prior to 18 and 17.7
• iPadOS: Versions prior to 18 and 17.7
• macOS Sonoma: Versions prior to 14.7
• macOS Ventura: Versions prior to 13.7
• macOS Sequoia: Versions prior to 15
• tvOS: Versions prior to 18
• watchOS: Versions prior to 11
• visionOS: Versions prior to 2

Besides, Apple ’s Safari browser with versions prior to 18 and Xcode with versions prior to 16 are also affected, said the advisory.

CERT-In has urged users to update their Apple devices to the latest software versions immediately to safeguard them against potential attacks, possibly due to the mentioned vulnerabilities. The agency has also recommended users monitor their devices for unusual activities and report them without delay.