Apple iOS 11.2.1 and tvOS 11.2.1 updates bring fix for critical security vulnerability

Apple has just released the first minor point update for its iOS 11.2 operating system for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. Other than that, the company has also outed the tvOS 11.2.1 update for Apple TV devices. The most significant thing that has been brought by the updates is the fix for a security vulnerability.

Carrying the build numbers 15C153 for iOS 11.2.1 and 15K152 for tvOS 11.2.1, the new software updates have been pushed out via OTA (Over-the-Air) update system for eligible iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV 4th generation, and Apple TV 4K devices running the iOS 11.2 or tvOS 11.2 operating systems. The updates fix a known remote sharing security vulnerability (CVE-2017-13903) affecting Apple's HomeKit framework for communicating with smart devices in your home.

When the issue came to notice last week, Apple had temporarily fixed it by disabling remote access to shared users.

"A remote attacker may be able to unexpectedly alter application state," says the security advisory published by Apple today for the iOS 11.2.1 software update. "A message handling issue was addressed with improved input validation."

As mentioned earlier, the major HomeKit security issue was discovered by Tian Zhang in the previous week. The new updates iOS 11.2.1 and tvOS 11.2.1 re-enables remote access for users. Since the vulnerability is now fixed, users can safely use the smart devices in their homes again.

If your device is eligible to receive the iOS 11.2.2 or tvOS 11.2.1 updates, you can open the Settings, go to the General section, and access the Software Updates entry. There, you should see the iOS 11.2.1 or tvOS 11.2.1 software update. All you have to do is to click on the "Download and Install" button to download and install the new version.

While Apple is rolling out new software updates on a regular basis, recently, its operating systems seem to be quite prone to security vulnerabilities.