Summer software updates are coming thick and fast, with Apple, Google, and Microsoft issuing multiple patches for serious security flaws in June. Enterprise software firms have also been busy, with fixes released for scary holes in VMWare, Cisco, Fortinet, and Progress Software’s MOVEit products.
A significant number of security bugs squashed during the month are being used in real-life attacks, so read on, take note, and patch your affected systems as soon as you can.
Apple
Hot on the heels of iOS 16.5, June saw the release of an emergency iPhone upgrade, iOS 16.5.1. The latest iPhone update fixes security vulnerabilities in WebKit, the engine that underpins Safari, and in the kernel at the heart of the iOS system.
Tracked as CVE-2023-32439 and CVE-2023-32434, both issues are code-execution bugs and have been used in real-life attacks, Apple said on its support page.
While details about the already exploited flaws are limited, security outfit Kaspersky revealed how the kernel issue was used to perform “iOS Triangulation” attacks against its staff. Impactful because they require no interaction from the user, the “zero click” attacks use an invisible iMessage with a malicious attachment to deliver spyware.
Apple has also issued iOS 15.7.7 for older iPhones fixing the Kernel and WebKit issues, as well as a second WebKit flaw tracked as CVE-2023-32435—which was also reported by Kaspersky as part of the iOS Triangulation attacks.
Meanwhile, Apple released Safari 16.5.1, macOS Ventura 13.4.1, macOS Monterey 12.6.7, macOS Big Sur 11.7.8 , watchOS 9.5.2 and watchOS 8.8.1.
Microsoft
Microsoft’s mid-June Patch Tuesday includes security updates for 78 vulnerabilities, including 28 remote code execution (RCE) bugs. While some of the issues are serious, it is the first Patch Tuesday since March that doesn’t include any already exploited flaws.
The critical issues patched in the June update include CVE-2023-29357, an elevation of privilege vulnerability in Microsoft SharePoint Server with a CVSS score of 9.8. “An attacker who has gained access to spoofed JWT authentication tokens can use them to execute a network attack which bypasses authentication and allows them to gain access to the privileges of an authenticated user,” Microsoft said.
“The attacker needs no privileges, nor does the user need to perform any action,” it added.
Meanwhile, CVE-2023-32031 and CVE-2023-28310 are Microsoft Exchange Server remote code execution vulnerabilities that require an attacker to be authenticated to exploit.
Google Android
It’s time to update your Google Android device, as the tech giant has released its June Security Bulletin. The most serious issue fixed by Google is a critical security vulnerability in the System component, tracked as CVE-2023-21108, that could lead to RCE over Bluetooth with no additional execution privileges needed. Another flaw in the System tracked as CVE-2023-21130 is a RCE bug also marked as critical.
One of the flaws patched in June’s update is CVE-2022-22706, a vulnerability in Arm components that the chipmaker fixed in 2022 after it had already been used in attacks.