{"id":808,"date":"2025-04-17T15:54:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:54:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/?p=4302210"},"modified":"2025-04-17T15:54:09","modified_gmt":"2025-04-17T15:54:09","slug":"apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_4043952\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-4043952\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-4043952\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key.jpeg\" alt=\"The Apple logo with a hand holding a lock.\" width=\"1400\" height=\"933\" srcset=\"https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key.jpeg 1400w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-1024x682.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-770x513.jpeg 770w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-370x247.jpeg 370w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-270x180.jpeg 270w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-740x493.jpeg 740w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-540x360.jpeg 540w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-1110x740.jpeg 1110w, https:\/\/assets.techrepublic.com\/uploads\/2023\/02\/tr22823-apple-security-key-810x540.jpeg 810w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-4043952\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image: ink drop\/Adobe Stock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Apple has rolled out emergency updates to patch two serious security flaws that were actively being exploited in highly targeted attacks on iPhones and other Apple devices. The fixes, released on April 16 as part of iOS 18.4.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, address zero-day vulnerabilities.<\/p>\n<p>Apple said these bugs were used in an \u201cextremely sophisticated attack against specific targeted individuals on iOS.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Inside_the_iOS_and_macOS_vulnerabilities\"><\/span>Inside the iOS and macOS vulnerabilities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/support.apple.com\/en-us\/122282\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">two bugs<\/a>, tracked as CVE-2025-31200 and CVE-2025-31201, affect Apple\u2019s software\u2019s CoreAudio and RPAC components.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>CVE-2025-31200 (CoreAudio):<\/b> This bug allows hackers to take control of a device simply by tricking it into processing a malicious media file. Apple credited the discovery to its internal team and researchers from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/google-threat-analysis-group-spyware\/\">Google\u2019s Threat Analysis Group<\/a> \u2014 a unit known for tracking advanced cyberattacks, often linked to government actors.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>CVE-2025-31201 (RPAC):<\/b> This flaw affects a security mechanism called Pointer Authentication, designed to prevent memory attacks. Hackers who have read and write access to a device could bypass this protection and hijack the system. Apple found and fixed this bug internally by removing the vulnerable code.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<aside class=\"pinbox right\">\n<h3 class=\"heading\">Must-read Apple coverage<\/h3>\n<\/aside>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Which_Apple_devices_were_affected\"><\/span>Which Apple devices were affected?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While Apple didn\u2019t say who was behind the attacks or how many people were affected, the language the company used \u2014 \u201cspecific targeted individuals\u201d \u2014 strongly suggests that these were not random hacks, but deliberate and precise operations. That, combined with Google\u2019s involvement, has raised speculation about possible ties to government-backed surveillance campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>Devices affected include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">iPhones from iPhone XS and newer.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">iPads from 7th generation and newer.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Macs running macOS Sequoia.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">All models of Apple TV HD and Apple TV 4K.<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\">Apple Vision Pro headset.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_growing_list_of_zero-days\"><\/span>A growing list of zero-days<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>These latest fixes bring the number of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/zero-day-exploits-the-smart-persons-guide\/\">zero-days<\/a> patched by Apple this year to five. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.techrepublic.com\/article\/news-apple-security-fixes-ios-15-16\/\">Earlier vulnerabilities<\/a> were addressed in January, February, and March. Apple typically keeps details about ongoing exploits under wraps, and this case is no different. The company hasn\u2019t shared exactly how the bugs were used.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image: ink drop\/Adobe Stock Apple has rolled out emergency updates to patch two serious security flaws that were actively being exploited in highly targeted attacks on iPhones and other Apple devices. The fixes, released on April 16 as part of iOS 18.4.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, address zero-day vulnerabilities. Apple said these bugs were used [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Image: ink drop\/Adobe Stock Apple has rolled out emergency updates to patch two serious security flaws that were actively being exploited in highly targeted attacks on iPhones and other Apple devices. The fixes, released on April 16 as part of iOS 18.4.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, address zero-day vulnerabilities. Apple said these bugs were used [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-17T15:54:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sergio Morales\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sergio Morales\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/\",\"name\":\"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-17T15:54:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec88bc1410fd158963717c4216f04807\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg\",\"width\":1400,\"height\":933},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/\",\"name\":\"TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec88bc1410fd158963717c4216f04807\",\"name\":\"Sergio Morales\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d45178fc8fbbe32d39278bc504fa9093f947f406ff4f1ddcfa27505ab772184?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d45178fc8fbbe32d39278bc504fa9093f947f406ff4f1ddcfa27505ab772184?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sergio Morales\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/sergiomorales.space\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/author\/sergiomorales\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog","og_description":"Image: ink drop\/Adobe Stock Apple has rolled out emergency updates to patch two serious security flaws that were actively being exploited in highly targeted attacks on iPhones and other Apple devices. The fixes, released on April 16 as part of iOS 18.4.1 and macOS Sequoia 15.4.1, address zero-day vulnerabilities. Apple said these bugs were used [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/","og_site_name":"TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog","article_published_time":"2025-04-17T15:54:09+00:00","author":"Sergio Morales","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sergio Morales","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/","name":"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks - TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-17T15:54:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec88bc1410fd158963717c4216f04807"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks.jpg","width":1400,"height":933},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/17\/apple-patches-two-zero-days-used-in-extremely-sophisticated-attacks\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Apple Patches Two Zero-Days Used in \u2018Extremely Sophisticated\u2019 Attacks"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/","name":"TecnoArtesanos Tech Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/ec88bc1410fd158963717c4216f04807","name":"Sergio Morales","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d45178fc8fbbe32d39278bc504fa9093f947f406ff4f1ddcfa27505ab772184?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3d45178fc8fbbe32d39278bc504fa9093f947f406ff4f1ddcfa27505ab772184?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sergio Morales"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/sergiomorales.space"],"url":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/author\/sergiomorales\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=808"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/808\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.tecnoartesanos.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}