Apple Releases iOS 11.2.2 With Security Fixes to Address Spectre Vulnerability - MacRumors
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Apple Releases iOS 11.2.2 With Security Fixes to Address Spectre Vulnerability

Apple today released iOS 11.2.2, the ninth official update to the iOS 11 operating system. iOS 11.2.2 comes almost one month after the release of iOS 11.2.1, another minor update, and a month after iOS 11.2, which brought brought Apple Pay Cash, faster 7.5W wireless charging, and a long list of bug fixes.

The iOS 11.2.2 update can be downloaded for free on all eligible devices over-the-air in the Settings app. To access the update, go to Settings --> General --> Software Update.

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The iOS 11.2.2 includes further fixes for the "Meltdown" and "Spectre" vulnerabilities that came to light last week. Meltdown and Spectre are serious hardware-based vulnerabilities that take advantage of the speculative execution mechanism of a CPU, allowing hackers to gain access to sensitive information.

While Meltdown was addressed in the iOS 11.2 update, Apple said it would introduce a mitigation for Spectre early this week. There is no hardware fix for Spectre, so Apple is addressing the vulnerability using Safari-based software workarounds. From Apple's security support document:

Available for: iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod touch 6th generation
Description: iOS 11.2.2 includes security improvements to Safari and WebKit to mitigate the effects of Spectre (CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715).

For more on iOS 11 and its updates, make sure to check out our iOS 11 roundup.

Related Forum: iOS 11

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Top Rated Comments

zorinlynx Avatar
114 months ago
What about devices left behind on iOS 10 like the iPhone 5 and 5C? Are they going to remain insecure?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
Hope it doesnt throttle down my 8
Score: 23 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
Geekbench went up after the update
(iPhone 8 Plus)
10070 - 11.2.1
10505 - 11.2.2

If that counts for anything

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Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
It’s worth noting that Apple won’t let you download an iOS update as small as 66 MB using cellular data despite allowing much larger app downloads. And, well, you can stream video online until you’re blue in the face.

This is kind of dumb.
This behavior still drives me nuts. Some people don't have access to Wi-Fi all the time.

If Apple wants to display a scary warning before you download a cellular update OTA, that's fine. But if I can send hundreds of MBs over the air to sync my Photos Library or stream videos all day long, I should be able to install a security update without having to wait hours or days to connect to decent Wi-Fi or risk using some questionable public hotspot to (ironically) download a security update.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
simonmet Avatar
114 months ago
It’s worth noting that Apple won’t let you download an iOS update as small as 66 MB using cellular data despite allowing much larger app downloads. And, well, you can stream video online until you’re blue in the face.

This is kind of dumb.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)
114 months ago
What about devices left behind on iOS 10 like the iPhone 5 and 5C? Are they going to remain insecure?
I hope for owners of older devices there is a software update similar to 6.1.6 ( being that it was released after iOS 7) that fixes KRACK and these other vulnerabilities.

I really believe Apple should be providing security patches to all their devices for a min of 5 years after they stop selling those devices.

( iPad mini for example discontinued June 2015 ( though available in retail outlets much longer ) supported until September 2016)
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)