Apple Releases macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 Supplemental Update With Spectre Fix

Apple today released a macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 supplemental update, which comes a little more than a month after the initial release of macOS High Sierra 10.13.2.

macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 is a free update for all customers who have a compatible machine. The update can be downloaded using the Software Update function in the Mac App Store.

macOS High Sierra
macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 addresses the "Spectre" vulnerability that was publicized last week. Spectre, along with its sister vulnerability "Meltdown" are serious hardware-based exploits 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 initial macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 update, Apple said it would introduce a mitigation for Spectre in macOS and iOS early this week. There is no hardware fix for Spectre, so Apple is addressing the vulnerability using Safari-based software workarounds.

There's also a Safari 11.0.2 update available for macOS Sierra 10.12.6 and OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 that is designed to mitigate the effects of the Spectre vulnerability. Customers running macOS Sierra and OS X El Capitan should download the new version of Safari to make sure their machines are protected.

Related Forum: macOS High Sierra

Popular Stories

iPhone 17 Slim Feature Single Camera 1 Redux

'iPhone 17 Air' Launching Later This Year With These 10 New Features

Wednesday January 15, 2025 7:16 am PST by
While the so-called "iPhone 17 Air" is not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the "ultra-thin" device. Overall, the "iPhone 17 Air" is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Due to its thinness, the device is expected to have some limited specifications compared to the iPhone 17 Pro models, including only a single rear camera, only a single speaker, no SIM...
2024 iPhone Boxes Feature

Apple Changes Trade-In Values for iPhones, iPads, Macs, and More

Thursday January 16, 2025 6:45 am PST by
Apple today adjusted estimated trade-in values for select iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch models in the U.S., according to its website. Some values increased, while others decreased. The changes were not too significant, with most values rising or dropping by $5 to $50. We have outlined some examples below: Device New Value Old Value iPhone 15 Pro Max Up to $630 U ...
Generic iOS 18

Everything New in iOS 18.3 Beta 3

Thursday January 16, 2025 12:39 pm PST by
Apple provided the third beta of iOS 18.3 to developers today, and while the betas have so far been light on new features, the third beta makes some major changes to Notification Summaries and also tweaks a few other features. Notification Summary Changes Apple made multiple changes to Notification Summaries in response to complaints about inaccurate summaries of news headlines. For...
new magsafe charger

Apple Releases Updated MagSafe Charger Firmware

Tuesday January 14, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the 25W MagSafe Charger that is compatible with the iPhone 12 and later and the latest AirPods and Apple Watch models. The updated firmware is version 2A143, up from the 2A138 firmware that the accessory shipped with. In the Settings app, you'll see a different version number than the internal firmware number. The 2024 MagSafe charger was...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 8 New Features

Thursday January 9, 2025 5:45 am PST by
While the iPhone 17 Pro and iPhone 17 Pro Max are not expected to launch until September, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. iPhone 17 Pro concept based on rumors Below, we recap key changes rumored for the iPhone 17 Pro models as of January 2025: More aluminum: iPhone 17 Pro models are rumored to have an aluminum frame, whereas the iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro models ...
MacBook Air 15 Inch Feature Blue

MacBook Air Likely Apple's First Product Update of 2025: What to Expect

Wednesday January 15, 2025 8:49 am PST by
There is a good chance that Apple's first product announcement of 2025 will be updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models with the M4 chip. Last month, Apple released macOS Sequoia 15.2, and in doing so it accidentally confirmed new MacBook Air models are coming this year (unsurprisingly). Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said the new MacBook Air models will be announced "earlier" than some...
Apple Card iPhone 16 Pro Feature

Three Companies Are Now in the Running to Take Over the Apple Card

Thursday January 16, 2025 8:18 am PST by
Apple is in talks with Barclays and Synchrony about becoming its new financial partner for the Apple Card, according to Reuters sources. The report today added that Apple has also been holding discussions with Chase Bank owner JPMorgan since last year, so there are at least three potential companies in the running to take over the Apple Card from current partner Goldman Sachs. Goldman...
Generic iOS 18

iOS 18.3 Coming Soon: Here's What's New

Monday January 13, 2025 5:33 am PST by
iOS 18.3 is currently in beta for developers and public beta testers. So far, the upcoming iPhone software update is very minor in scope. Below, we outline what is new in iOS 18.3 so far. The only potential new feature coming to iPhones with iOS 18.3 so far is robot vacuum support in the Home app, but this functionality is not yet live. Apple is laying the groundwork for the feature,...
apple power beats pro 2

Powerbeats Pro 2 Filed in Regulatory Databases Ahead of 2025 Launch

Wednesday January 15, 2025 6:02 am PST by
In September, Apple said that it would be launching Powerbeats Pro 2 in 2025, and now further evidence of the wireless earbuds has surfaced. Powerbeats Pro 2 images found in iOS 18 code Apple submitted Powerbeats Pro 2 regulatory documents to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in mid-December. The documents were made available to the public this week, and they were spotted by 91M...

Top Rated Comments

Sheza Avatar
92 months ago
Lol I'm not getting High Sierra. PoS full of bugs and performance issues.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
coolfactor Avatar
92 months ago
A safari-based workaround? Please...
Yah, and other browsers are responsible for their own fixes.

With browsers fixed, Spectre can’t be exploited via a web page.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
92 months ago
Can't wait to see the benchmarks!
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)
MacGekko Avatar
92 months ago
This video about 3:30 onwards has some good stuff (the stuff prior to 3:30 is about the root bug)



Another example of a graphic glitch:
Except when you read the comments it seems there are logical explanations for this performance and after the new file system is indexed most report their Mac computers running faster on High Sierra.

And a recent video update explained that when the Youtube creator installed the latest High Sierra update, 99 percent of his problems were fixed, what a waste of time.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pwm86 Avatar
92 months ago
Geekbench results for
iMac (27-inch Retina Late 2015)
Pre update:
Single-Core [B]Score [/B]5302 Multi-Core Score 17899
Geekbench 4.2.0 Tryout for Mac OS X x86 (64-bit)
Upload Date November 10 2017 07:52 AM

Post update is better!
Single-Core [B]Score [/B]5310 Multi-Core Score 18162
Geekbench 4.2.0 Tryout for Mac OS X x86 (64-bit)
Upload Date January 08 2018 06:47 PM
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
qawes Avatar
92 months ago
How dare they abandon people with machines more then 8 years old. :rolleyes:
I'm not aware of machines that can support Yosemite and cannot support El Capitan or Sierra.

There are a lot of people that cannot upgrade to High Sierra yet because some gear in the pro audio network isn't yet fully optimised to it, gear that is worth much, much more than a Mac that comes with High Sierra out of the box.

Official compatibility and real world stability are two different things in this world, that's why we stay behind one or two versions.

It is not our personal preference that Apple "has" to release a new version each year and we need to have the latest iMessage or whatever features, we would gladly prefer the strategy that was applied in the Tiger/Leopard/Snow Leopard days. We need security and a rock solid system, that's why we buy Apple products in the first place, right?
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)