Newest apple mac update update#
Newest apple mac update Patch#

When he clicked on the download, it ran without any of the popups that shouldвЂ™ve warned he was about to run unapproved software. When Owens copied those techniques and tested his mock malware, he did it on an up-to-date macOS with the Gatekeeper settings set to the most restrictive. That came after he discovered Appify, a legitimate tool that had also managed to get past Gatekeeper checks back in 2011 with a tool allowing developers to create simple macOS apps with just a script.

He found that certain scripts within apps were not checked by Gatekeeper. The bug was first reported to Apple by security researcher Cedric Owens, who discovered it in mid-March.

Newest apple mac update update#

That XProtect update will happen automatically and retroactively apply to older versions of macOS. вЂњItвЂ™s trivial to weaponize 100% reliably.вЂќДЄn Apple spokesperson said the company has now addressed the issue in macOS 11.3 and updated XProtect, its malware detection, to block the malware using this technique. Clearly this code was never audited,вЂќ he told Forbes. вЂњit undermines so much of AppleвЂ™s security efforts. To Wardle, itвЂ™s startling Apple ever shipped the code in the first place. Version Big Sur 11.3 is available now and contains other fixes besides addressing this bug.

Newest apple mac update Patch#

It affects all recent versions of macOS but Apple has released a patch that prevents the attacks. For anyone still running an unpatched macOS, WardleвЂ™s advice was simple: вЂњDonвЂ™t open anything from anybody.вЂќ But once thatвЂ™s done, the malware wonвЂ™t be stopped installing by the MacвЂ™s defensive tools, though macOS should stop any changes to critical system files and ask the user if the app can access photos, the mic or other systems. ThereвЂ™s one caveat: The hackers have to convince a user to download or run an app thatвЂ™s not in the App Store or allowed by Apple. That means malware can skip all the checks done by AppleвЂ™s security mechanisms like Gatekeeper and File Quarantine, which are designed to stop any unapproved, dangerous apps from running. Malicious hackers can and have created malware that, though unsigned, is misclassified by AppleвЂ™s operating system, thanks to a logic error in macOSвЂ™ code. The hacks effectively take Mac security back a decade, according to Patrick Wardle, a former NSA analyst and a macOS security expert, who described it as one of the worst security issues to have ever hit the Apple operating system. Malware that takes advantage of the bug has been hitting Macs since at least January, making patching all the more urgent. Apple Mac users are being urged to update their macOS software now, as theyвЂ™re at вЂњgrave riskвЂќ of hackers exploiting whatвЂ™s been described as one of the worst vulnerabilities to affect the tech giantвЂ™s computers in years.