![\"Apple](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765711089_531_0x0.jpg\")
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When is Apple’s critical update coming to your iPhone?<\/p>\n
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Updated on Dec. 13 with additional detail on the security implications for users.<\/p>\n
The wait for Apple\u2019s iOS 26.2<\/a> is over. Every day this week, reports have suggested \u201cit could be today<\/a>.\u201d Now it\u2019s here, you need to install the update. Apple warns<\/a> that two of more than 20 vulnerabilities \u201cmay have been exploited in an extremely sophisticated attack,\u201d just days after it issued spyware warnings to users around the world.<\/p>\n The two under attack vulnerabilities affect WebKit, which controls the framework underpinning all iPhone browsers. We often see vulnerabilities and fixes affecting WebKit, given it\u2019s a window on the world, highly valued by attackers targeting iPhones. <\/p>\n CVE-2025-43529 and CVE-2025-14174 were disclosed by Google\u2019s Threat Analysis Group. For both, Apple warns the threat was that \u201cmaliciously crafted web content may lead to memory corruption,\u201d affecting devices pre-iOS 26. Tandem vulnerabilities that are linked in this way is a strong hallmark of commercial spyware.<\/p>\n ForbesCISA Warns Chrome And Edge Users: Update Now\u2014Attacks Have StartedBy Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n The appearance of a second release candidate<\/a> to beta testers earlier this week suggested some late changes or bugs might need to be addressed. I had suggested mid-December<\/a> for these next security fixes and that it was unlikely to be released on a Friday. <\/p>\n That\u2019s unprecedented \u2014 take this seriously.<\/p>\n Apple is pushing iOS 18 holdouts to upgrade to iOS 26, which makes this new update even more important. iOS 26 brings new scam defenses to iPhone, closing the gap to Android, which has these already, as well as anti-fingerprinting defaults in Safari.<\/p>\n Do not wait. Update your iPhone as soon as it\u2019s available. Go to Settings > General > Software Update, and tap to update when iOS 26.2 is there. And as I\u2019ve said before, even if you can stay on iOS 18 and keep it updated \u2014 you shouldn\u2019t. <\/p>\n Beyond critical security fixes, the update brings a useful security PIN to AirDrop, better securing file and media transfers to users outside your contacts. There\u2019s also a new, localized emergency alert feature which will request your location data.<\/p>\n The AirDrop PIN comes at an interesting time, with Google having just breached Apple\u2019s walled garden to enable Pixels to connect via the AirDrop protocol. No reason as yet to think the update will hamper that, albeit there\u2019s always speculation Apple will look to shut down this kind of protocol reverse engineering where it can.<\/p>\n Apple releasing the update on a Friday suggests to me that it\u2019s a more serious set of security fixed than expected. All the more reason to update as soon as you can.<\/p>\n The response to iOS 26.2 backs up that assumption, that this is more serious than expected. Per Cyber Press<\/a>, \u201cboth vulnerabilities were discovered in collaboration with Google\u2019s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) and were linked to targeted exploitation campaigns targeting iOS 26 and earlier. Apple confirmed these issues may have been used in sophisticated attacks against specific individuals, suggesting the flaws could have been part of a zero-day exploitation chain designed for espionage or surveillance.\u201d<\/p>\n