iPhone users alerted to major security problem with latest iOS update

Apple accidentally opened back up a security bug that it had previously fixed, according to security researchers.

The issue means that the latest version of the iPhone software, iOS 12.4, is insecure and hackers could find their way into people's phones, experts claim.

When iOS 12.3 was released, it came with a variety of bug fixes. That included a fix for a problem that had been found by Google researchers and was patched up by Apple.

But the release of iOS 12.4, in July, that fix was taken back out, according to a report from Motherboard.

It means that any iPhone that has been updated to the latest software – as advised by security experts – is vulnerable. iPhones and iPads using software older than iOS 12.3 could also be attacked.

That issue could allow developers of malicious apps to break into secure parts of the phone. That could be easier because the bug has been known about for so long, meaning that hackers and other attackers could already have developed ways to get use the security bug.

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In the past, such attacks have been built into websites, meaning that users only need to be lured onto a specific page for their phone to be compromised.

It also means that it is possible to jailbreak the software, allowing people to get around Apple's restrictions on the software. iPhone users have said that those jailbreaks do work.

Apple is yet to comment on the security issue, and no new update has yet been made available.

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