Apple’s Latest Update for iPhone Patches 15 Security Vulnerabilities

Apple’s latest update for iPhones, iOS 17.5, adds a few new features for your smartphone. But aside from these fresh changes, the most important thing about the update is the 15 security patches Apple included this time around.

Apple doesn’t include the security notes with the usual description of the software update. Instead, it publishes this report later on its dedicated security updates website. Luckily, all 15 patches are for vulnerabilities without known exploits: None of these are zero-days, so you can assume that, at the time of the update, no bad actors have knowingly taken advantage of these security flaws.

That said, that doesn’t mean that you should delay installing this update if you have an iPhone: While Apple isn’t aware of any known exploits at this time, they have divulged the identities of 15 security vulnerabilities. It’s now only a matter of time before exploits are discovered for these flaws, and if you aren’t updated to iOS 17.5 (or the equivalent security update for iOS 16, iOS 16.7.8) you’re putting yourself at risk.

These 15 flaws include fixes for the following iOS services:

• AppleAVD
• AppleMobileFileIntegrity
• AVEVideoEncoder
• FindMy
• Kernel
• Libsystem
• Maps
• MarketplaceKit
• Notes
• RemoteViewServices
• Screenshots
• Shortcuts
• Sync Services
• Voice Control
• WebKit

Some notable flaws include Screenshots and Notes, where a bad actor could access data from the Lock Screen; Find My, where a bad actors could use a malicious app to determine your location; and Maps, where an app could read sensitive location permission.

You can find a full list of the 15 security vulnerabilities, plus their descriptions, on Apple’s iOS 17.5 security notes website here.