The issue “may have been actively exploited,” according to Apple.

Apple released security updates to its operating systems on Monday to resolve a security flaw. While such updates are common, the company said in the announcement that the issue “may have been actively exploited,” meaning hackers could’ve taken advantage of the issue to access Apple devices.

Apple issued security updates for its macOS Ventura, latest iPhone and iPad products and its Safari web browser. Security updates for its AppleTV and Apple Watch operating systems were also slated to be released on Monday, according to the Apple security updates website, but details have not been released at the time of publication. While the security flaws vary across devices, WebKit, its open-source browser engine, was a common target.

Apple does not have additional details to share on the exploits beyond the update release notes, spokesperson Scott Radcliffe told Engadget.

The company credited Xinru Chi of Pangu Lab, Ned Williamson of Google Project Zero, Wenchao Li and Xiaolong Bai of Alibaba Group and an anonymous researcher for finding the flaws, with additional recognition to The Citizen Lab at The University of Toronto’s Munk School for their assistance.

Patches for security flaws exploited on Apple devices aren’t unusual, but keeping devices up-to-date can help keep users protected from falling victim to attack. Apple generally doesn’t reveal details of an exploit until a patch is publicly available. In August, the company released similarly timely patches for its iPad, iPhone and macOS users.

The Citizen Lab has not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication.

Source:
courtesy of ENGADGET

by Katie Malone

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