PSA: Update your iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch now to fix the "BLASTPASS" exploit
Note: This article was first published on 8 September 2023.
Apple has just released updatesof iOS, iPadOS,macOS, and watchOSthat fix two serious security vulnerabilities.
According to a report, theupdates addresstwo zero-day vulnerabilities that researchers at the Citizen Lab at The University of Toronto discovered.
The researchers alsosaid that they were used to deliver NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to at least one victim.
The vulnerabilities are part of an exploit chain known as "BLASTPASS" which allows attackers to compromise phones without requiring any action from the target.
This zero-click vulnerability involves sending a "maliciously crafted"PassKit image to a target via iMessage, and it's capable of infecting their devices without any interaction from the victim.
Since the Pegasus spyware was developed in 2011, it has been used mainly by governments to spy on targets. It's particularly insidious because it's often installed using zero-clicks exploits and runs silently in the background. Furthermore, it is capable of harvesting a wealth of data including text messages, calls, passwords, and location information.
As of now, the only way to protect yourself from this vulnerability is to either apply today's update or put your device in Lockdown Mode.
You want to make sure your devices are running the following versions of software:
macOS Ventura 13.5.2iOS 16.6.1iPadOS 16.6.1watchOS 9.6.2
Source: MacRumors, The Record
< PrevPage 1 of 1 – PSA: Update your iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch now to fix the "BLASTPASS" exploitPage 1 of 1 – PSA: Update your iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch now to fix the “BLASTPASS” exploitPage 1 of 1 Page 1 of 1 – PSA: Update your iPhone, Mac, iPad, and Apple Watch now to fix the “BLASTPASS” exploitNext >