Yesterday it came to light that a new OS X bug is being exploited, allowing attackers to install malware on a Mac without needing any system passwords. Now, Apple has announced that it will fix the bug ‘as soon as possible.’
The Guardian reports that Apple will include a patch for the privilege escalation bug in the next security update for OS X, 10.10.5. Initially, some were concerned that a lack of a fix in existing beta versions of the 10.10.5 update would leave Macs vulnerable until the next major iteration of the OS, El Capitan, was released. But Apple reassures the newspaper that a fix will roll out sooner. The company has also taken the precaution of blacklisting apps that are known to use the exploit, which may help save some people from attacks due to the vulnerability.
Along with the world’s first firmware worm for Mac, these new security threats raise some concerns about once-heralded the security benefits of Apple’s systems.
[Guardian]
Image by Björn Olsson under Creative Commons license.