You might have thought that Apple would be releasing its latest iPhone software update right about now. After all, iOS 16.6 is in the works and five betas of that have already been released to developers.
Instead, Apple has released a Rapid Security Response (RSR)—only its second-ever use of this mechanism. And it’s a tiny download (under 3MB) that’s fast to install.
All of which tells us it’s pretty urgent, right?
The thing about Rapid Security Responses is they only deal with one topic: security issues. That’s the reason the most recent update, iOS 16.5.1, was a regular update and not an RSR, because it included non-security elements. More details on that here.
Which iPhones can run iOS 16.5.1 (a)?
Apple iOS 16.5.1 (a) runs on all iPhones released in late 2017 or later, that is, including iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X, and this update includes features relevant to all those handsets. It is specifically for iPhones running iOS 16.5.1 (and iPads running iPadOS 16.5.1).
How to get it
Updating is easy: open the Settings app on the device and then choose General, then Software Update. Next, choose Download and Install, it’ll all be sorted quickly. Actually, there’s something else new in this update. You need to ensure that the iPhone will download RSRs. Apple says, “iPhone or iPad: go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates, then make sure “Security Responses & System Files” is turned on.”
What’s in the release
The first RSR, released on May 2, described exactly what RSRs do. At the time, Apple had said, ““Rapid Security Responses are a new type of software release for iPhone, iPad and Mac. They deliver important security improvements between software updates – for example, improvements to the Safari web browser, the WebKit framework stack or other critical system libraries. They may also be used to mitigate some security issues more quickly, such as issues that may have been exploited or reported to exist.”
That’s the key phrase: “issues that may have been exploited” and it’s what is germane here.
If you have an iPhone running iOS 16.5.1, then this will address an issue which, to quote Apple, “may have been actively exploited”. Which explains why Apple has recommended it is installed urgently.
Apple’s description is this:
“Impact: Processing web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.”
The good thing about RSRs is they are small and quick to install, taking a very short time to download an a moment to install and restart. There is also a version for macOS users, by the way.
Read the full article here