Apple has released security updates for two zero-day vulnerabilities that were actively being exploited in the wild, targeting iPhones, iPads, and Macs. The vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2023-28205 and CVE-2023-28206, were discovered by researchers from Google’s Threat Analysis Group and Amnesty International’s Security Lab. The first vulnerability, affecting Apple’s WebKit browser engine, could allow attackers to take over a user’s browser or any app that uses WebKit to render HTML content.
The second vulnerability, found in IOSurfaceAccelerator display code, allowed any iOS application to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges, potentially enabling the attacker to take control of the entire device.
Sophos security researcher Paul Ducklin warns that the WebKit vulnerability affects users even if they’ve installed a third-party browser instead of Safari since all App Store apps with web display capabilities are required to use WebKit.
He adds that while kernel-level bugs are typically less of a threat against Apple devices because of its strict App Store rules, attackers can sidestep the App Store problem entirely by combining a remote browser-busting bug with a local kernel-busting hole, as is the case here. Although Apple is aware that the vulnerabilities may have been actively exploited, it has not attributed the exploits to any specific group.
The security updates are available for iPhone 8 and later, all models of iPad Pro, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 5th generation and later, and Macs running macOS Ventura. Ducklin urges users to update their devices as soon as possible.
