Apple released iOS 18.4.1 on April 16, more than two weeks after the company released iOS 18.4, which brought new emoji to everyone. Apple said the latest update brings important bug fixes to your iPhone, and the update patches two security issues that might’ve been exploited in «extremely sophisticated» attacks.
You can download the update by going to Settings > General > Software Update, tapping Update Now and following the prompts on your screen.
Read more: An Expert’s Guide to iOS 18
According to Apple’s release notes, iOS 18.4.1 patches two security vulnerabilities. One vulnerability is in Core Audio, Apple’s digital audio infrastructure for iOS.
«Processing an audio stream in a maliciously crafted media file may result in code execution,» Apple wrote in relation to the Core Audio vulnerability. Code execution could allow a third party to steal your data or hack your device for other nefarious purposes.
The other vulnerability the update patches is in RPAC, a security measure Apple uses to protect against the exploitation of memory corruption bugs. Apple wrote that a malicious actor with arbitrary read and write capabilities could bypass this security measure. Memory corruption can compromise your system and lead to someone stealing or leaking your data.
Apple wrote that both of these vulnerabilities may’ve been used in targeted attacks against specific individuals. Though you may not be the intended target of these attacks, you should still download the update now to ensure you have the most protection available for you and your data.
Apple also wrote that iOS 18.4.1 fixes a rare issue that could prevent a wireless CarPlay connection in certain vehicles.
For more on iOS 18, here’s all the new features included in iOS 18.4 , and here’s our iOS 18 cheat sheet.
