Update iOS 14.5.1 immediately to avoid being hacked

No operating system is perfect, all with vulnerabilities (discovered or not), including Apple's iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.

Last week, Apple officially launched iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5 with tons of improvements and new features. However, it wasn't long before security researchers discovered two zero-day vulnerabilities, allowing hackers to execute malicious code on a device.

Both flaws are in WebKit, affecting the Safari browser, Mail . and all web content on iOS, iPadOS, even the App Store.

Apple provides no information on who is using the vulnerability or being targeted for the exploit. The company said the security vulnerability CVE-2021-30665 was discovered by security researchers at Qihoo 360 based in China, while the other one was found by an unknown source.

Apple immediately released iOS 14.5.1 and iPadOS 14.5.1 updates to fix two zero-day vulnerabilities, and also fixed an issue related to the App Tracking Transparency feature. This bug has also been fixed on MacBooks through the macOS 11.3.1 update.

App Tracking Transparency is a feature that forces apps to get permission before tracking and using your data. This allows users to prevent advertisers from accessing personal data.

The new rules apply to all apps, including those developed by Apple. To enable this feature, go to Settings - Privacy - Tracking and enable the Allow Apps to Request to Track option.

To update iOS 14.5.1 or iPadOS 14.5.1, go to Settings - General - Software Update - Download & Install (download and install). Note, before doing this, users should back up all data on iPhone, iPad through iTunes or iCloud to minimize possible risks.

Lesley Montoya

Update 04 May 2021