Apple said on Sept. 28 that CVE-2026-86950 affects CoreGraphics and can allow arbitrary code execution when a device processes a maliciously crafted file. The flaw was fixed in iOS 26.7.1 and iPadOS 26.7.1 through improved bounds checking. The company said it was aware of a report indicating the vulnerability “may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack” against specific targeted individuals using iOS versions released before iOS 27. Apple credited Meta Product Security with reporting the issue………Continue reading….
By: By Olivia Stephanie
Source: Crypto News
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Apple provides major updates to the iOS operating system annually. Since iOS 5, the primary method of delivery has been over-the-air. Updates are also available using iTunes on older versions of macOS and Windows, using Finder on macOS starting with macOS Catalina, and using the Apple Devices app on Windows starting with Windows 10 version 22H2. The device checks an XML-based PLIST file on mesu.apple.com for updates.
Updates are delivered as unencrypted ZIP files. Updates are checked for regularly, and are downloaded and installed automatically if enabled. Otherwise, the user can install them manually or are prompted to allow automatic installation overnight if plugged in and connected to Wi-Fi.
iPod Touch users originally had to pay for system software updates due to accounting rules that designated it not a “subscription device” like the iPhone or Apple TV, causing many iPod Touch owners not to update. In September 2009, a change in accounting rules won tentative approval, affecting Apple’s earnings and stock price, and allowing iPod Touch updates to be delivered free of charge.
Apple significantly extended the cycle of updates for iOS-supported devices over the years. The iPhone (1st generation) and iPhone 3G only received two major iOS updates, while later models had support for three to seven major updates. iOS uses the XNU kernel included in the Darwin operating system and used by macOS, adapted to work with devices that run iOS.
It is additionally used as the kernel for Apple’s other platforms and operating systems, including iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS, and tvOS, and also serves as the kernel used by the software powering the HomePod range of smart speakers. iOS 18, the second-to-latest stable version of iOS, uses version 24 of Darwin.
Darwin, and by definition XNU, is open source software dual-licensed under the 3-clause BSD license for components developed specifically for BSD, and the Apple Public Source License (APSL) for components of the operating system and kernel that have been developed by Apple; however, XNU is licensed specifically under the APSL.
Since the release of iOS 6 in 2012, the kernel uses kernel address space layout randomization (KASLR), a technology and security technique introduced in OS X Mountain Lion and included in later versions of macOS that makes it harder to exploit known and future memory corruption security vulnerabilities by randomizing the memory addresses used by the kernel.
Initially most wireless carriers in the US did not allow iPhone owners to unlock it for use with other carriers. However AT&T allowed iPhone owners who had satisfied contract requirements to unlock their iPhone. Instructions to unlock the device are available from Apple, but it is ultimately at the sole discretion of the carrier to authorize unlocking the device.
This allows the use of a carrier-sourced iPhone on other networks. Modern versions of iOS and the iPhone fully support LTE across multiple carriers wherever the phone was purchased. Programs to remove SIM lock restrictions are available, but are not supported by Apple, and most often not a permanent unlock – a soft unlock, which modifies the iPhone so that the baseband will accept the SIM card of any GSM carrier. SIM unlocking is not jailbreaking, but a jailbreak is also required for these unofficial software unlocks.
The legality of software unlocking varies in each country; for example, in the US, there is a DMCA exemption for unofficial software unlocking of devices purchased before January 26, 2013.
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