Apple fixed two major security vulnerabilities when it released iOS 15 that could have exposed private Apple ID information and in-app search history to malicious third-party apps and allowed apps to override users' privacy preferences, Apple revealed in a recent support document update.
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With most iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS updates, Apple patches a list of security vulnerabilities that have been fixed in that update. Apple maintains a list of security patches and occasionally updates them with new entries once the investigation into a particular security vulnerability is complete.
iOS and iPadOS 15 released in September introduced “additional sandbox restrictions on third-party apps” as a patch, and Apple thanks developer Steve Troughton-Smith for helping it find and fix the vulnerability.
Apple has no indication that this particular exploit was actively used by hackers.
Additionally, iOS 15, iPadOS 15, and watchOS 8.0 also fix a security exploit that could allow a third-party app to bypass privacy preferences. Apple does not provide further information about the specifics of the exploit and does not report that it was actively used.
Apple has also updated the security content pages for iOS 15.1, iOS 14, tvOS 15, tvOS 15.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6.1, macOS Big Sur 11.6, and more, with newly disclosed security vulnerabilities for each of the updates.
See also: iOS 15.2 released: All the new features and improvements
According to Apple, iOS 15 is installed on more than 72% of all iPhones released in the last four years, with iPadOS 15 adoption lower at 57%. iOS 15 adoption is significantly lower than iOS 14, which was installed on more than 80% of all iPhones released in the last four years. Even iOS 13 saw faster adoption rates than iOS 15, as it was installed on 77% of iPhones by January 2020.
With the newly disclosed security exploits patched in iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 and iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1, users are encouraged to update to the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS. Apple is currently testing iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 with public and developer beta testers, and the latest public release is iOS 15.2.1 and iPadOS 15.2.1.
See also: iOS 15: Twitter investigates bug causing disconnections
Apple said in June that it would give users the option to choose at the launch of iOS 15 whether they would like to update to the latest version or continue to receive security updates for iOS 14. The latter is no longer an option, as Apple is now pushing users to update to iOS 15, as users still using iOS 14 will no longer receive standalone security updates.
Apple says the stay option in iOS 14 was always intended to be temporary.
Source of information: macrumors.com
