If you own an iPhone 6, iPad mini 2, or other older Apple device, you’re unfortunately locked out of the latest iOS 16.3 update that arrived this week. But there is always an update you need to install in the settings.
Apple pushes important security updates to older phones from time to time (the last was in August 2022) and this is one of those times. The iOS 12.5.7 update contains a single patch that fixes a zero-day WebKit vulnerability that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code on your Mac:
Webkit
- Available for: iPhone 5s, iPhone 6, iPhone 6 Plus, iPad Air, iPad mini 2, iPad mini 3 and iPod touch (6th generation)
- Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to the execution of arbitrary code. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited on versions of iOS released before iOS 15.1.
- The description: A type confusion issue has been addressed through better state handling.
- CVE-2022-42856: Clément Lecigne of Google’s Threat Analysis Group
The security update was extended to newer devices in iOS 16.1.2 on November 30 and iOS 15.7.2 on December 13. It’s unclear why Apple waited almost eight weeks to ship it to iOS 12 devices.
To install the update, head to the Settings app, then General and Software update. Faucet Download and install and follow the instructions.
