Apple on Monday shipped a major iOS update with fixes at least 20 documented security defects, including a kernel flaw that’s already being actively exploited in the wild.

The Cupertino device maker confirmed the active exploitation of CVE-2022-42827, warning in a barebones advisory that the flaw exposes iPhones and iPads to arbitrary code execution attacks.

“An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited,” Apple said in a note documenting the security vulnerabilities.

As is customary, Apple did not release details on the active exploitation or provide indicators of compromise or other data to help iOS users look for signs of infections.

The company described the exploited bug as an out-of-bounds write issue was addressed with improved bounds checking and said it was reported by an anonymous researcher.

So far this year, there have been at least eight (8) documented in-the-wild zero-day attacks against Apple devices as the company’s security response teams scrambled to cover holes in its flagship macOS, iOS and iPadOS platforms.

[READ: Can ’Lockdown Mode’ Solve Apple’s Mercenary Spyware Problem ]

The latest iOS 16.1 refresh also includes patches for at least four additional issues that expose iOS devices to code execution attacks.  

These include:

The mobile security update also fixes flaws in AppleMobileFileIntegrity, AVEVideoEncoder, Core Bluetooth, GPU Drivers, IOHIDFamily, Sandbox and Shortcuts. 

By Ryan Naraine on Mon, 24 Oct 2022 19:21:41 +0000
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