It’s just below a month since iOS 16.1.1 got here out for Apple iPhone customers, fixing a pair of bugs that have been listed with the worrying phrases “a remote user may be able to cause unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution”.
Both macOS 13 Ventura and iPadOS bought up to date on the similar time, with a pair of safety bulletins revealed on Apple’s site.
Now, there’s one other safety replace, apparently transferring iPhone customers solely as much as model iOS 16.1.2.
We did it so we might report again to you
We have put in it, and after a relatively modest obtain (by Apple requirements, a minimum of) of about 250MBytes, the reboot-and-update course of accomplished reassuringly shortly, and our telephone nonetheless appears to be working simply effective.
But this replace is mysterious even by Apple’s normally tight-lipped requirements, with the corporate residing as much as, and maybe even past, its official assertion that the it “doesn’t disclose, discuss, or confirm security issues until an investigation has occurred and patches or releases are generally available.”
Apple insists that this veil of secrecy exists “[f]or the protection of our customers”, and if silence actually is golden in the case of cybersecurity updates, then we will solely assume there’s an awfully severe bug getting fastened this time spherical.
Indeed, we haven’t but obtained an Apple Security Advisory e-mail, which is the standard means we hear concerning the newest patches, and Apple’s official safety replace portal HT201222 says nothing greater than this:
iOS 16.1.2 (particulars accessible quickly) – iPhone 8 and later – 30 Nov 2022
It’s now 2022-12-02, two days after than the official launch date proven above, and we will’t let you know something greater than what we realized from the popup that appeared once we went to Settings > General > Software Update.
This assured us that “this update provides important security updates”, and despatched us again on a fruitless loop again to the uninformative HT201222 web page for “information about the security content”:
As you possibly can see from the HT20122 screenshot above, that is, for now a minimum of [2022-12-02T21:00Z], an iPhone-only patch, with no updates listed for any variations of iPadOS, macOS or Apple’s Watch and TV platforms.
What to do?
As talked about above, we up to date straight away, on the grounds that the thriller solely served to persuade us that one thing severe was in all probability afoot…
…and since we’re within the lucky place of getting an Android telephone to fall again on if one thing goes flawed.
We subsequently figured we’d take one for the crew (by which we imply for the Naked Security neighborhood!) and see if there have been any compelling causes to advise you in opposition to the replace.
Fortunately, we didn’t encounter any bother that made us assume you shouldn’t replace, and plenty of iPhone customers in all probability both have already got or will quickly obtain the replace mechanically.
But if, like us, you like to have a minimum of some technical info to go on first, then, as we identified proper within the headline itself, you’ll discover Apple much less communicative than ever this time.
Keep your eyes on that HT20122 portal web page to maintain up with the complete story, and to be careful in case different Apple platforms (e.g. iPadOS, macOS) or earlier supported variations (e.g. iOS 15) get belated-but-related updates for a similar safety holes.
You’re welcome.