Photo: Primakov (Shutterstock)
If you use an iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you should update your Safari browser ASAP. Today, Apple released the latest software versions for all three of its latest systems—iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, and macOS Monterey 12.2—and if you normally take your time installing new updates, you might want to make this one a priority since it fixes a major security flaw.
What’s wrong with Safari?
For some time now, Safari has had a critical security flaw, thanks to an IndexedDB implementation bug with WebKit. This bug allowed websites to read your data from other open windows, in addition to your Google ID and other Google information. Normally, websites shouldn’t have access to databases that don’t match their own domain name, however, this bug breaks that security wall.
Here’s an example of why this is so bad: If your bank uses this IndexedDB JavaScript API, a malicious website would be able to see that information with the right know-how. The same goes for any website that uses this API. It’s just a ticking time bomb for privacy and security. But while Apple took its time putting together a fix for this issue, the patch is finally here.
How to update to fix this Safari security bug
To make sure Safari is updated and patched, you need to install the latest version of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS on your iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Just head to Settings > General > Software Update (iOS and iPadOS), or System Preferences > Software Update (macOS), then follow the on-screen instructions to download and install this latest update.
Safari isn’t the only security update here
While Safari is by far the biggest reason to update ASAP, it’s not the only fix iOS 15.3, iPadOS 15.3, and macOS 12.2 bring to your devices. Apple has security updates for ColorSync, Crash Reporter, iCloud, and more. You can read Apple’s full security notes for iOS 15.3 and iPadOS 15.3 here (the company doesn’t have security notes for macOS 12.2 as of yet).
