Revised Rapid Security Response Updates for iOS 16.5.1 (c), macOS Ventura 13.4.1 (c), Released
Apple has again released Rapid Security Response Updates for MacOS, iOS, and iPadOS, this time versioned as iOS 16.5.1 (c), iPadOS 16.5.1 (c), and MacOS Ventura 13.4.1 (c), to address a known and actively exploited security issue with Safari.
These new rapid response updates are available after similar rapid security response updates (versioned with an (a) instead of a (c)) were pulled from distribution because they were breaking the ability to access many websites.
Due to the seemingly rushed and inadequate testing for these type of rapid updates that automatically install themselves, some users may have disabled the automatic installation of rapid response updates on their iPhone or iPad, or on their Mac, and thus will need to update manually.
How to Install Security Response Updates for iOS 16.5.1 (c), iPadOS 16.5.1 (c)
Installing the update manually on iPhone and iPad is done by the following:
- Go to “Settings” then go to “General”
- Go to “Software Update” and choose to “Download and Install” when you see “iOS Security Response Update 16.5.1 (c)” or “iPadOS Security Response Update 16.5.1 (c)”
The updates are quite small in size, sometimes only 1.4mb in size, but nonetheless will still require at least 5GB of storage space to install, so users who have constrained storage situations may need to free up a lot of disk space before they can install the update onto their device.
The iPhone or iPad will restart to complete installation, just like any other software update.
How to Install Security Response Updates for MacOS Ventura 13.4.1 (c)
Manually installing the update on Mac is simple:
- Go to Apple menu > “System Settings”
- Now go to “General”
- Go to “Software Update” and choose to update when you see “macOS Security Response Update 13.4.1 (c)” as available to download
The Mac must restart to complete installation.
If you’re actively running the iOS 17 beta, iPadOS 17 beta, or MacOS Sonoma beta, presumably the update third betas of those operating systems include the same fix for Safari, but that is not yet confirmed.
I almost think this rapid response is as much of a concern as the zero day threats its trying to fix. I get that Apple is trying to get ahead of the game but it is too bad they don’t do more testing before pushing out these rapid fixes.
So what happened to 16.5.1 (b)?
It most likely crashed and burned just like (a)