Apple releases security updates to block iPhone passcode hacking tools, again

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/apple-releases-security-updates-to-block-iphone-passcode-hacking-tools-again/ar-AA1yLQHA

Apple released iOS 18.3.1, iPadOS 18.3.1, and iPadOS 17.7.5 today to address a zero-day exploit that might allow attackers to access data on a locked device.

The update patches the OS against an attack on USB Restricted Mode, which Apple first implemented in devices with the release of iOS 11.4.1 in 2018, to prevent attempts to bypass device passcodes and get around the encryption safeguards that protect user’s data. According to Apple, the exploit reported by Bill Marczak of The Citizen Lab “may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.”

Apple has patched flaws in USB Restricted Mode before, and in iOS 18, it added a new “inactivity reboot” that would restart unused devices after a few days so that they require a passcode for access. Today, it also issued new updates for the Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro platforms but has not yet released any security notes to go along with those.