Government warns Apple users of critical vulnerabilities: Here’s what to do

Apple users, the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) has issued an advisory highlighting multiple vulnerabilities in Apple products. The impacted devices include iPhones, iPads, Macs and the browser Safari. The advisory, dated November 21, 2024 comes with high severity rating and advises Apple users to apply appropriate security updates. Here’s all that you need to know about the CERT-In advisory

As per the cyber security body, following Apple versions are affected:


“Two vulnerabilities were reported in Apple products – Execution Vulnerability (CVE-2024-44308) and Cross-Site Scripting Vulnerability (CVE-2024-44309), which could be exploited by an attacker to execute arbitrary code or perform XSS attacks on the affected device,” the advisory reads. Target audience include individuals and organizational users of Intel-based Mac systems, including macOS, iOS, and iPadOS devices.
CERT-In says that the Execution vulnerability exists in JavaScriptCore, which is used by Apple's Safari browser and other applications to process JavaScript. An attacker could exploit this issue to execute arbitrary code execution by sending maliciously crafted web content to the affected device.
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While the Cross-Site Scripting vulnerability exists in WebKit, the engine that powers Safari and web content on Apple devices. “An attacker could exploit this issue by sending maliciously crafted web content to trigger cross-site scripting (XSS) on the affected device. These vulnerabilities may have been actively exploited on Intel-based Mac systems. Users are strongly advised to update their devices to the latest software versions to mitigate the risk,” the advisory says.
Successful exploitation can lead to ‘high risk of unauthorized access, data theft, or gain control of affected systems’ by the cyber criminals. It can also result in unauthorized access to sensitive user information, denial of service and data manipulation.

The CERT-In says that Apple users must apply appropriate security updates as mentioned in the Apple Security Updates. iPhone and iPad users should update to the latest software versions – iOS 18.1.1 or iOS 17.7.2, while Mac users should install macOS Sequoia 15.1.1 on their device. Apple visionOS users should update to version 2.1.1 and Safari users should upgrade to version 18.1.1.