If you haven’t yet downloaded iOS 18.2 for your iPhone, iPadOS 18.2 for your iPad, or macOS 15.2 for your Mac, you’re missing out on a slew of improvements, most notably some excellent Apple Intelligence upgrades as well as other welcome features. But even If you don’t have a newer iPhone or just don’t care about AI, there are numerous security updates you’ll want to make sure are installed.
As with all updates, Apple has outlined the security updates in each version, and there are more than a dozen for each, including some older OSes that got critical patches:
iPhone/iPad
- iOS 18.2/iPadOS 18.2: 20 security updates
- iPadOS 17.7.3: 14 security updates
Mac
- macOS Sequoia 15.2: 42 security updates
- macOS Sonoma 14.7.2: 25 security updates
- macOS Ventura 13.7.2: 23 security updates
Apple Watch
- watchOS 11.2: 15 security updates
Apple TV
- tvOS 18.2: 15 security updates
Apple Vision Pro
- visionOS 2.2: 12 security updates
None of the vulnerabilities are known to have been exploited in the wild, but several contain serious flaws affecting various parts of the system, including WebKit issues that could lead to memory corruption and unexpected crashes, and a kernel flaw that could let an app “leak sensitive kernel state.” There’s also a fix for the Screen Sharing Server in macOS Sonoma and Ventura that could allow a user with screen-sharing access to view another user’s screen.
The most serious vulnerability appears to be a flaw in the new Passwords app. The patch, which is available for iOS/iPadOS 18.2 and macOS 15.2, involves using an unsecured HTTP protocol when sending information over a network and could allow an attacker in a privileged network position to alter network traffic. So if you’ve been on the fence about updating, let this be the reason to jump over quickly.
You can find more informations about the various vulnerabilities and fixes on Apple’s security releases support page. To update your device head over to the Settings app, then General, and Software Update.
Author: Michael Simon, Executive Editor, Macworld
Michael Simon has been covering Apple for more than 20 years. He started covering rumors with Spymac when the iPod was the iWalk, and has owned nearly every iPhone Apple has ever made. He lives in Connecticut with his wife, son, and far too many gadgets.