If you have an iPhone 6s or newer, your phone is compatible with iOS 15 and you should have the latest version, iOS 15.6.1. Likewise, if you have a 5th-generation iPad, 4th-generation iPad mini, or 4th-generation iPad Air, you should have already installed iPadOS 15.6.1.
But those with iPhones and iPads older than that are stuck on iOS 12, which doesn’t get regular updates. Every so often, though, Apple issues an update to this years-old operating system with critical security fixes. Some security issues are so important that it’s urgent to get them out, even to the few users still hanging on to iPhones or iPads from more than six years ago.
Well, iOS 12.5.6 is just such a release. It features a fix for the same critical WebKit vulnerability that was fixed in iOS and iPadOS 15.6.1:
Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to arbitrary code execution. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
WebKit is the browser engine used by Safari and all other web browsers on iPhone and iPad, and this is a particularly nasty security vulnerability–and one that may have been exploited in the wild already.
So if you have an older iPhone or iPad that’s stuck on iOS 12, open the Settings app and head to General > Software Update to download iOS 12.5.6 today.
Author: Jason Cross, Senior Editor
I have written about technology for my entire professional life - over 25 years. I enjoy learning about how complicated technology works and explaining it in a way anyone can understand.