Apple Releases Security Patches for All Devices

Last week, Apple released security patches for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac. While the company didn’t advertise these software updates as security patches, the new versions fix dozens upon dozens of security vulnerabilities across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. If you have these devices, update them as soon as possible.

Apple released iOS 15.5, iPadOS 15.5, and macOS 12.4 on Monday, May 16. As advertised, these updates seemed to be somewhat inconsequential: Apple touted a new feature for Wallet on iPhone that allows users to send and receive funds to and from their Apple Cash cards directly, while all devices received a Podcasts app update to help automatically manage downloaded episodes. However, the true highlight of these updates are the security patches, and there are a lot of them.

iOS and iPadOS each saw almost 30 security vulnerabilities patched with version 15.5, while macOS 12.4 shipped with over 50 patches in its update. Many of these vulnerabilities would allow bad actors to take advantage of kernel privileges to run malicious code, which puts the security of your system in grave jeopardy. One vulnerability even allows bad actors and sites track users while using private browsing mode in Safari.

When there are this many security vulnerabilities patched, updating is a no brainer. To do so, head to Settings > General > Software Update (iOS and iPadOS) or System Preferences > Software Update (macOS). Allow the system to check for an update, then, when available, follow the on-screen instructions to download and install these patches.