CERT-In Warns Apple Users of High-Severity Security Flaws: Update Now:

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has released a high-severity vulnerability alert (CIVN-2025-0071) concerning several critical flaws in Apple software. Users and organizations are urged to apply security updates immediately to protect against potential cyberattacks.

Affected Software and Devices

The advisory highlights multiple Apple platforms and software versions that are vulnerable, including:

Safari: Versions prior to 18.4

Xcode: Versions prior to 16.3

iOS/iPadOS: Versions before 18.4, 17.7.6, 16.7.11, and 15.8.4

macOS:

Sequoia: Before 15.4

Sonoma: Before 14.7.5

Ventura: Before 13.7.5

tvOS: Versions before 18.4

visionOS: Versions before 2.4

These vulnerabilities impact both personal and enterprise users, particularly businesses that rely on Apple systems for critical operations.

Root Cause of the Vulnerabilities

According to CERT-In, the flaws arise from several underlying technical issues, including:

Type confusion

Use-after-free errors

Out-of-bounds reads and writes

Improper input validation

Faulty file parsing

Buffer overflows

Path handling weaknesses

These bugs could allow malicious actors to bypass security controls, execute arbitrary code, access sensitive data, or cause denial-of-service (DoS) disruptions.

Potential Risks and Impact

If exploited, these vulnerabilities could:

Allow unauthorized access to user or organizational data

Let attackers elevate privileges or execute remote code

Enable spoofing or data manipulation

Disrupt system operations through DoS attacks

CERT-In has categorized the impact as high-risk, especially for businesses using Apple’s ecosystem extensively.

Immediate Action Required: Install Security Updates

CERT-In strongly recommends that all users and IT administrators update their Apple devices immediately. Apple has released patches to address these vulnerabilities, which are available on its official security updates page.

Steps to Follow:

Visit Apple’s official Security Updates page

Check for updates relevant to your device and OS version

Install the latest patches to secure your system