Apple fixes critical security bug on iPhone with iOS 15.3, users should install it immediately

The iPhone was plagued with a critical security bug in Apple's Safari browser that could allow hackers to exploit it to access nearly all user's personal information. Apple is now rolling out a fix for this bug with the latest iOS 15.3 update for the eligible iPhone models, including iPhone 13 and iPhone 12. Since this bug impacted nearly all iOS 15 devices, you should treat this update as important and install it right away. In addition to the Safari bug, iOS 15.3 fixes a few other bugs, some of which have been exploited already. Since these bugs also attacked the iPad, Apple also released iPadOS 15.3.

The Safari bug was discovered recently in which security researchers found that Apple's WebKit implementation of JavaScript possesses a bug that allows any website to gain access to the databases and the information stored in them during a browsing session on Safari. Ideally, a website should not be able to access other databases during a browsing session except its own. Since Apple forces other browsers, such as Google Chrome and Firefox to use WebKit on the iPhone and iPad, the bug impacted these two and other browsers, as well. As such, the criticality of the bug is high because any malicious website made by hackers could try to siphon off your information from other websites that you trust.

iOS 15.3 should fix this issue, as well as many others. To install the update, go to iPhone Settings, then General, and Software update. Your iPhone will check for an update automatically and when you see iOS 15.3 available, tap Download & Install to continue with the installation process.

In the release notes, Apple mentioned that the update brings fixes for an iCloud bug that allowed an application to access user's files, a bug in the iOS Crash Reporter that could allow hackers to gain root privileges, a bug in ColorSync feature that could let a maliciously crafted file to run arbitrary code execution when processed. There are a few other minor bugs that Apple listed in the release notes, but the biggest one would be the Safari bug since it also impacts the iPad and the Mac.

The iPads are also getting the fix as a part of iPadOS 15.3, so if you own an eligible iPad, you should download and install the new update immediately. Mac users can also go and download the latest macOS Monterey 12.2 that brings the fix for the Safari WebKit bug.