Brad Bussie, the Chief Information Security Officer at e360, in Episode eleven of the State of Enterprise IT Security Edition, emphasizes the importance of staying ahead of threats, and that includes updating your Apple devices.
Apple has rolled out significant updates for iOS (17.4) and iPadOS, addressing critical vulnerabilities that have shaken the core stability of its operating systems. These updates are not just routine patches; they are countermeasures against two kernel vulnerabilities that have already been exploited in the wild. As Bussie points out, "Apple marked this flaw as exploited, which means it's already been exploited," highlighting the urgency for users to update their devices immediately.
Understand the Vulnerability: The identified vulnerabilities, CVE 2002 423225 and 23296, relate to kernel read/write operations, which could bypass memory protection measures.
Manual Checks: Despite the usual automatic update prompts, Bussie advises, "if you're listening to me on an Apple device and you haven't got the pop-up notification to patch, I would suggest you check manually."
Urgency to Act: Apple has been prompt in issuing updates, yet this vulnerability has already seen exploitation. This indicates the level of risk is high and action should be immediate.
Privacy Concerns: Beyond the kernel issues, other privacy flaws have been discovered, notably within accessibility features that could potentially leak sensitive location data and issues surrounding Safari's private browsing functionalities.
Episode ten of the "State of Enterprise IT Security" podcast is available now. For more insights into how technology shapes our world, stay tuned to our blog for the latest in enterprise IT security and beyond.