iOS 14.7.1 and macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 Patch Security Vulnerability That May Have Been Actively Exploited

Apple today released unexpected iOS 14.7.1 and iPadOS 14.7.1 updates to the public, and according to a newly released support document, the software addresses a serious security vulnerability that may have been exploited in the wild.

General iOS 14
Apple says that an application may have been able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges due to a memory corruption issue. "Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited," reads the document.

The vulnerability has been addressed with improved memory handling, and because this is a security issue that may have affected some users, all iPhone and iPad users should update to iOS 14.7.1 and iPadOS 14.7.1 as soon as possible. The same vulnerability has also been addressed in the macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 update.

The iOS 14.7.1 update also fixes a bug that could prevent Touch ID iPhones from unlocking an Apple Watch.

Related Forum: iOS 14

Popular Stories

top stories 2025 12 20

Top Stories: iOS 26.3 Beta, Major Apple Leaks, and More

Saturday December 20, 2025 6:00 am PST by
You'd think things would be slowing down heading into the holidays, but this week saw a whirlwind of Apple leaks and rumors while Apple started its next cycle of betas following last week's release of iOS 26.2 and related updates. This week also saw the release of a new Apple Music integration with ChatGPT, so read on below for all the details on this week's biggest stories! Top Stories i...
maxresdefault

Where's the New Apple TV?

Monday December 22, 2025 11:30 am PST by
Apple hasn't updated the Apple TV 4K since 2022, and 2025 was supposed to be the year that we got a refresh. There were rumors suggesting Apple would release the new Apple TV before the end of 2025, but it looks like that's not going to happen now. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said several times across 2024 and 2025 that Apple would...
iPhone Top Left Hole Punch Face ID Feature Purple

iPhone 18 Pro Features Leaked in New Report, Including Under-Screen Face ID

Tuesday December 16, 2025 8:44 am PST by
Next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max will be equipped with under-screen Face ID, and the front camera will be moved to the top-left corner of the screen, according to a new report from The Information's Wayne Ma and Qianer Liu. As a result of these changes, the report said the iPhone 18 Pro models will not have a pill-shaped Dynamic Island cutout at the top of the screen....
ios 18 security update

Don't Want to Upgrade to iOS 26? Here's How to Stay on iOS 18 [Update: Now Unavailable]

Friday December 19, 2025 10:37 am PST by
Since the beginning of December, Apple has been pushing iPhone users who opted to stay on iOS 18 to install iOS 26 instead. Apple started by making the iOS 18 upgrades less visible, and has now transitioned to making new iOS 18 updates unavailable on any device capable of running iOS 26. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, Apple is no longer offering new versions of iOS 18, even though there...
apple beta 26 lineup

Apple's 2026 and 2027 Product Roadmap: Foldable iPhone, iPhone 18 Pro, M5 Macs, and More

Tuesday December 16, 2025 4:42 pm PST by
There has been a whirlwind of rumors over the last few days, sourced from leaked internal software designed for the iPhone and the Mac, and news sites like The Information. Below, we have a quick recap of everything we've heard this week, which serves as a guide to Apple's product plans in 2026 and beyond. We've organized the info by likely release date, though there are some products that...
iPhone Chips

Apple Clings to Samsung as RAM Prices Soar

Monday December 22, 2025 6:17 am PST by
Apple is significantly increasing its reliance on Samsung for iPhone memory as component prices surge, according to The Korea Economic Daily. Apple is said to be expanding the share of iPhone memory it sources from Samsung due to rapidly rising memory prices. The shift is expected to result in Samsung supplying roughly 60% to 70% of the low-power DRAM used in the iPhone 17, compared with a...
generic tracking prompt orange

Apple Hit With Supersized Fine in Italy Over an iPhone Privacy Feature

Monday December 22, 2025 7:47 am PST by
Italy's Competition Authority (AGCM) has imposed a €98.6 million ($116 million) fine on Apple over its App Tracking Transparency feature. Since the release of iOS 14.5 in April 2021, Apple has required apps to ask for permission before tracking a user's activity across other apps and websites for personalized advertising, as part of a feature named App Tracking Transparency. If a user...

Top Rated Comments

adampk17 Avatar
58 months ago

Another reason why to use a mac....this one...updates every few months...to improve your device, not to crack it like my win10 device
Not to disagree with you about liking updates but Microsoft does update Windows 10 every month, sometimes more often. They aren't exactly slacking either.
Score: 21 Votes (Like | Disagree)
dadiy Avatar
58 months ago
Why the secrecy on this one. Pegasus patched but they don’t want to admit it?
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
daved2424 Avatar
58 months ago

Glad Apple is staying on top of security.
So much so that Pegasus was a thing and seemingly for a very long time.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
58 months ago
Love the security updates. Apple is actively monitoring everything. All the bugs and Malware.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Localcelebrity Avatar
58 months ago

Why the secrecy on this one. Pegasus patched but they don’t want to admit it?
Probably because they can’t be sure they’ve patched all the ways in, only the ones they know about.

Also, Apple would definitely like to avoid increased media scrutiny by corroborating anything related to Pegasus, especially considering how few people were actually impacted, they don’t want to add to the hysteria.

Lastly, the less information they can give hackers as to how they patch things, the better.
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
murdoc2k Avatar
58 months ago
It's always good to see Apple actively closing the loop holes. Also I'm super happy that unlocking Apple Watch with Touch ID is finally working again, something I use on a daily basis.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)