Apple has finally fixed a security bug with its new password manager app which could have put your data at risk.
The provider first introduced Passwords with the long-awaited iOS 18 update as a built-in application to help you manage your login details and alert you if they’re compromised in a data breach. Developer and security researcher Tommy Mysk, however, found a vulnerability in its system soon after the launch.
Apple confirmed that the new 18.2 operating system update has solved the issue that an attacker could have exploited to “alter network traffic. ” Mysk now urges everyone to upgrade all their Apple devices to the latest version to patch the critical issue as soon as possible.
iOS 18.2 security update
“Since iOS 18 launched, the new Passwords app has been using unencrypted HTTP to download icons for password entries – a potential security risk. We reported this bug to Apple in September, and it’s finally fixed in iOS 18.2 (CVE-2024-54492),” Mysk wrote on X on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) refers to a set of rules that allow us to communicate data on the Internet and is used to load webpages. As the iOS expert explains (see video below), malicious networks can easily intercept and manipulate insecure HTTP.
The problem was that every time you added a new password, Passwords got the account’s icon from the added website (say, gmail.com, for example) and called the website over the insecure HTTP protocol.
“This malicious network overwrites the response to return a custom icon,” said Mysk. “Passwords picked the custom icon and showed it in the app. This could be a malicious payload.”
“This issue was addressed by using HTTPS when sending information over the network,” confirmed Apple in its 18.2 security update release.
The Passwords fix is now available for all devices (iPhone and iPad 18.2, as well as macOS Sequoia 15.2) after upgrading to the latest version.
Mysk urges everyone to upgrade their devices as soon as possible, noting that also another security company, Tenable, classified the vulnerability as “critical.”
The 18.2 update isn’t just about fixing vulnerabilities, though. The release is probably the biggest Apple Intelligence upgrade for iPhone, iPad, and Mac so far, in fact, bringing some of the most-anticipated Apple AI features to devices including Genmoji, Image Playground, and a ChatGPT-powered Siri.
Most notably, Apple Intelligence finally extends its support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the UK.