Apple Confirms 'Heartbleed' Security Issue Did Not Affect Apple Software and 'Key Services'

heartbleed_200Apple today released a statement to Re/code confirming that iOS, OS X and "key web services" were unaffected by the widely publicized security flaw known as Heartbleed which was disclosed earlier this week.

“Apple takes security very seriously. iOS and OS X never incorporated the vulnerable software and key web-based services were not affected,” an Apple spokesperson told Re/code.

Heartbleed was a security flaw in the popular open-source software OpenSSL which helps provide secure connections between clients and servers. Due the ubiquity of OpenSSL, Heartbleed is believed to have affected approximately 66% of the internet.

Security blogger Bruce Schneier describes the issue as "catastrophic" and on "the scale of 1 to 10, this is an 11." The flaw allowed servers to leak server memory to a malicious attacker, allowing hackers to extract login/password and other private data from a server. Users are recommended to change their passwords on all services that may have been affected. Mashable provides a list of services where you should change your password. Fortunately, MacRumors Forums were unaffected by the security flaw.

Popular Stories

apple wallet drivers license feature iPhone 15 pro teal 1

Apple Says iPhone Driver's Licenses Coming to These 8 U.S. States, But Rollout Remains Slow

Wednesday March 19, 2025 6:55 am PDT by
In select U.S. states, residents can add their driver's license or state ID to the Wallet app on the iPhone and Apple Watch, providing a convenient and contactless way to display proof of identity or age at select airports and businesses, and in select apps. Unfortunately, this feature continues to roll out very slowly. It has been three and a half years since Apple first announced the...
iphone 16 pro ghost hand

Next Year's iPhone 18 Pro Already Rumored to Have Five New Features

Tuesday March 18, 2025 1:00 pm PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro models are still around a year and a half away from launching, there are already some early rumors about the devices. Below, we recap some key iPhone 18 Pro rumors so far. Under-Screen Face ID In April 2023, display industry analyst Ross Young shared a roadmap showing that iPhone 17 Pro models would feature under-display Face ID. In May 2024, however, Young said ...
iCloud General Feature Redux

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Receive a New Perk

Thursday March 20, 2025 12:01 am PDT by
If you pay for iCloud storage on your iPhone, Apple has a new perk for you, at no additional cost. The new perk is the ability to create invitations in the Apple Invites app for the iPhone, which launched in the App Store last month. In the Apple Invites app, iCloud+ subscribers can create invitations for any occasion, such as birthday parties, graduations, baby showers, and more. Anyone ...
iPhone 17 Air Fanned Feature

First iPhone 17 Air Case Has Camera Bar, Camera Control Button Cutouts

Wednesday March 19, 2025 5:29 am PDT by
Serial leaker Sonny Dickson today shared an image of what he claims is a first look at a third-party case for Apple's iPhone 17 Air. "If you didn’t know an Air was coming, you'd swear it was a Google Pixel case," he said. Case manufacturers often obtain design specifications of upcoming iPhone models before their release by collaborating with Apple through official partnerships or...
iphone 16 pro models 1

All Four iPhone 17 Models Rumored to Feature Upgraded 24-Megapixel Front Camera and More

Monday March 17, 2025 7:50 pm PDT by
All four iPhone 17 models launching later this year will feature an upgraded 24-megapixel front-facing camera, according to analyst Jeff Pu. In a research note today with investment firm GF Securities, Pu shared a chart in which he reiterated that the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, and iPhone 17 Pro Max will each be equipped with a 24-megapixel front camera. By comparison, all four ...
Windows Vista

Apple Might Be Having Its Windows Vista Moment, Says Analyst

Thursday March 20, 2025 6:52 am PDT by
Is Apple experiencing a "Vista-like drift into systemically poor execution?" That was a question posed by well-known technology analyst Benedict Evans, in a recent blog post covering Apple's innovation and execution, or seemingly lack thereof as of late. He is referring to Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system, which was widely criticized when it launched in 2007 due to software bugs,...
iOS 19 visionOS UI Elements

iOS 19 to Have Some of the 'Biggest' Design Changes in iPhone's History

Sunday March 16, 2025 10:35 am PDT by
Apple is planning some of the "biggest iOS and macOS redesigns in its history," according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. In his Power On newsletter today, Gurman reiterated that iOS 19 will have a visionOS-like design with more transparent interfaces:The new interfaces will adopt the design principles introduced in visionOS, the software for Apple's Vision Pro headset. That includes greater...
Generic iOS 19 Feature Mock

iOS 19 Coming in June With These New Features

Thursday March 20, 2025 2:04 pm PDT by
While the first iOS 19 beta is still more than two months away, there are already plenty of rumors about the upcoming software update. Below, we recap the key iOS 19 rumors so far. visionOS-Like Design In January, the YouTube channel Front Page Tech revealed a redesigned Camera app that is allegedly planned for iOS 19. According to Front Page Tech host Jon Prosser, the Camera app...
new magsafe charger

Apple Releases New MagSafe Charger Firmware

Tuesday March 18, 2025 11:33 am PDT by
Apple today released a firmware update for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods. The updated firmware is version 2A146, up from the 2A143 firmware that came out earlier this year. In the Settings app, the new firmware is version 136, up from 133. Apple launched the 2024 MagSafe charger alongside the iPhone 16 models, and it is able to ...

Top Rated Comments

Jedibugs Avatar
143 months ago
That's good. You know if Apple had been affected, all the headlines would be reading "Apple's Security Failure"
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BornAgainApple Avatar
143 months ago
This is what a Walled Garden gets you :apple:
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dugbug Avatar
143 months ago
Apple could not resist that zinger :p

Android apparently incorporated it. Ouch.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
robeddie Avatar
143 months ago
To people above me: right - remember SSL issue from not long ago?
The garden is walled, except for wholes found from time to time.

wholes?

hmm, I'm gonna think about that while I enjoy my hore.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
petsounds Avatar
143 months ago

It's not important that Apple takes security very seriously and it doesn't even matter in this case - nobody (maybe except for the NSA^^) knew about this issue, so there wouldn't have been anything Apple could have done.
Not exactly. OpenSSL has gotten a lot of flack in the past for being a shoddy library. There's plenty of security researchers who've looked through the code and said it's a mess. So perhaps Apple knew to stay away where possible. In other cases, it was a lucky accident that they pinned OpenSSL on OS X to the older 0.9.8 which wasn't vulnerable.

Either way, it's a PR win for Apple, especially compared to Android which is vulnerable. And you can bet that many of the old versions of Android people are running will never get patched by carriers.
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
SILen(e Avatar
143 months ago
Their statement contained a bit of marketing blahblah.

It's not important that Apple takes security very seriously and it doesn't even matter in this case - nobody (maybe except for the NSA^^) knew about this issue, so there wouldn't have been anything Apple could have done.
Score: 13 Votes (Like | Disagree)