Apple urging iPhone and iPad users to update their devices immediately

Apple is strongly recommending that all iPhone and iPad owners take immediate action by updating their operating systems. 

This urgent advisory comes in response to the identification of critical security vulnerabilities that could potentially be exploited by hackers to target these devices. To safeguard against potential cyberattacks, Apple urges users to promptly upgrade their devices to the latest versions of iOS and iPadOS.

According to Apple, these vulnerabilities have the potential to allow the execution of arbitrary code. 

One of the vulnerabilities is related to the ImageIO framework, which enables apps to read and write a wide range of image file formats and access metadata associated with images. 

The second vulnerability affects Apple’s Wallet app, which is also present in watchOS. In response to these vulnerabilities, Apple has also released an update for watchOS 9.6.2.

The flaws found are known as zero-day exploits, meaning that they take advantage of previously unknown coding flaws to gain unauthorized access to devices.

Experts say iPhone and iPad owners should immediately go to the settings menu on their devices. From there, select general, then software update. Tap install to begin the update process. Users can follow these steps to update to the latest versions of iOS or iPadOS (16.6.1):

1. Open the Settings app
2. Tap on “General”
3. Select “Software Update”
4. Follow the on-screen instructions to download and install the update.

For users whose devices do not support the iOS 16 update, Apple has stated that they may release a version of iOS 15 to address these vulnerabilities for older devices such as iPhone 8, 4th-gen iPads, and 2nd-gen iPad Airs.

Additionally, it is important to note that iOS 17 is scheduled for release in the near future. This means that users will need to update their devices once again to ensure the latest security features are in place.