Apple says Intel, ARM security flaw impacts all Macs and iOS devices; issues fix

Apple confirms that Meltdown, Spectre design security flaw impacts all Intel, ARM devices, which means all Mac and iOS devices are affected. (Image source: Reuters)

Apple has issued a statement confirming the design flaw vulnerabilities on ARM-based and Intel CPUs impacts all Macs and iOS devices. The company has also issued updates on iOS, MacOS, tvOS to protect customers against these flaws. The two security flaws were reported earlier this week and have been named Meltdown (impacts only Intel chips) and Spectre, which impacts pretty much every known modern processor including Intel, ARM, AMD. Because these processors and their architecture is commonly used on nearly on smartphones, laptops, computers, etc it means every single known device is vulnerable to these exploits.

The Register originally reported the story of the ‘Kernel memory’ leaks and design flaws in Intel processors. Then Google’s Project Zero team, which tracks down zero-day vulnerabilities on computer systems, reported that the flaw impacts nearly all modern processors. Now Apple has also issued a statement on the same saying all Macs and iOS devices are impacted by this security flaw.

Apple’s statement also said there are no known exploits currently impacting customers. The Cupertino-based technology giant added that to actually exploit these vulnerabilities and carry out an attack will require that a malicious app be loaded onto the particular Mac or iOS device.

Apple says it has already “released mitigations in iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2 to help defend against Meltdown.” However, the Apple Watch is not affected by Meltdown bug. The statement further adds that the company will release mitigations in Safari to help defend against Spectre. “We continue to develop and test further mitigations for these issues and will release them in upcoming updates of iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS,” reads the statement.

Microsoft also issued an automatic update for Windows 10, though Windows 7, Windows 8.1 users will have to wait till patch Tuesday to get the latest security update. However, as some reports have pointed out that firmware updates will be required as well from Intel, AMD or the processor manufacturer in question in order to protect users against the Meltdown and Spectre flaws.