Under the radar, Apple has been releasing critical security updates from across the board to patch several vulnerabilities on their platforms, such as iOS and iPadOS. OTA updates are already rolling out for devices including the iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus, iPhone X and a host of new iPad models. These updates directly address known weaknesses that the most advanced and destructive cyberattacks might otherwise exploit.
The vulnerabilities reported include an authorization issue in IOKit and LaunchServices, as well as permissions and type confusion vulnerabilities affecting multiple components. These security vulnerabilities highlight the importance of always updating your devices as soon as possible to protect against known vulnerabilities.
Overview of Vulnerabilities
Amongst other vulnerabilities, this update contains fixes for the following security vulnerabilities. As you might have noticed, a big one is CVE-2025-31255, which was an authorization flaw in IOKit. This critical bug would have potentially permitted unauthorized users to access sensitive system functionalities. In addition, CVE-2025-43362 covers a lack of validation for file types in LaunchServices, which could allow user data to be exposed maliciously.
The other major vulnerabilities are CVE-2025-43329, a permissions vulnerability in Sandbox, and CVE-2025-43272, which affects WebKit. Given the seriousness of these vulnerabilities, their presence alone indicates the increasing complexity of the cybersecurity threats facing Apple users.
“Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals.” – Apple
Additional Security Concerns
Accompanying these disclosures are advisories covering the importance of patching as they relate to other critical vulnerabilities. For example, CVE-2025-31254 is a vulnerability that existed in Safari, and CVE-2025-43285 concerns the use of permissions inside AppSandbox. Additionally, CVE-2025-43349 is an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in CoreAudio that may result in crashes or arbitrary code execution.
A few other vulnerabilities are available including CVE-2025-43316, a permissions flaw in DiskArbitration. Further, CVE-2025-43297 presents a type confusion vulnerability within Power Management. Each of these concerns come with specific hazards that may be very serious for users, should these concerns persist without being remedied.
Importance of Timely Updates
Apple’s recently released iOS 16.7.12 and iPadOS 16.7.12 cover a number of critical vulnerabilities. Beyond this, it’s a reminder of just how important timely software updates, including security patches, are to keeping your device safe. The update is finally available even for some other older devices. This would encompass the iPad Pro 9.7-inch and the iPad Pro 12.9-inch 1st gen.
Users should take immediate action to install these updates to protect themselves from the threat of new exploits. Other outcomes Apple still continues to take security especially seriously and continues to affirm the mantra of keeping users safe, protecting their data.