Update your iPhone now to patch a CarPlay glitch and two serious security flaws

Maria Diaz/ZDNET

Apple has rolled retired its latest iPhone update, iOS 18.4.1. Though minor, you'll privation to instal the update arsenic it patches a CarPlay glitch and respective unsafe information flaws.

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After the merchandise of iOS 18.4 earlier this month, galore iPhone and CarPlay users started complaining of random transportation problems and different hiccups. Some radical reported that CarPlay would disconnect and reconnect, portion others revealed that the CarPlay surface would look blank. In its statement of iOS 18.4.1, Apple said the update "addresses a uncommon contented that prevents wireless CarPlay transportation successful definite vehicles."

With that bug hopefully solved, let's determination connected to the much urgent substance of information vulnerabilities. The latest update deals with two superior flaws already utilized successful targeted attacks.

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The archetypal flaw, CVE-2025-31200, is described arsenic "processing an audio watercourse successful a maliciously crafted media record whitethorn effect successful codification execution." That process refers to an attacker who uses Apple's CoreAudio framework to make a media record containing malware. Any iPhone idiosyncratic who launches the record would trigger the malicious code, allowing the attacker to entree the device.

This vulnerability whitethorn person been exploited successful an "extremely blase onslaught against circumstantial targeted individuals connected iOS," according to Apple. To squash this bug, the institution fixed a representation corruption issue, a occupation successful which a programme tin modify representation to execute malicious code.

The 2nd flaw, CVE-2025-31201, means "an attacker with arbitrary work and constitute capableness whitethorn beryllium capable to bypass Pointer Authentication." Pointer Authentication is simply a benignant of extortion designed to thwart attacks that effort to corrupt strategy memory. With the flaw exploited, an attacker tin summation entree to representation by skirting past this protection. That means they tin past tally malicious codification oregon bargain delicate data.

This vulnerability was besides recovered to person been utilized successful attacks against targeted individuals. Apple fixed the glitch by removing the susceptible code.

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Typically, these flaws would beryllium utilized lone successful highly targeted attacks against governmental figures, journalists, and different salient individuals. However, the vulnerabilities airs superior threats to the information of Apple devices, truthful each users should instal them.

The CarPlay hole is lone for iOS, but the 2 information patches use to different Apple products. As such, Apple has updated iPadOS, MacOS, TVOS, and VisionOS. If you usage immoderate of those operating systems and the associated devices, download and instal the latest update.