Two recently-discovered security exploits dubbed "Meltdown" and "Spectre" was discovered to be affecting all major processors made in the past twenty years. Computer company Apple has announced that all devices using MacOS and iOS are affected.
Given that these two operating systems are running in most Apple devices, it is safe to say that all Macbooks, iPhones, and iPads are affected. However, Apple assured users by saying that there are "no known exploits" that can actually impact users at this time.
The company also noted that "Meltdown" and "Spectre" require a malicious app for the exploits to work. In light of this, Apple advised users not to download apps from sources they cannot trust.
"We recommend downloading software only from trusted sources such as the App Store," the company said.
Apple is one of the last companies to issue a statement regarding "Meltdown" and "Spectre." However, most researchers know that Apple devices are affected simply because their devices use chips known to be vulnerable to the exploits. These are processors made my Intel, AMD, and ARM.
Still, Apple claimed that they already have rolled updates to protect against the flaw, especially with Intel-specific attacks. The fixes were rolled out in vesion 11.2 of the iOS, 10.13.2 for the MacOS, and 11.2 for the tvOS.
"Meltdown" and "Spectre" are exploits that can be potentially damaging, as it not only affects high-level software but the kernel itself. Malicious apps can exploit these methods to grant other parties unrestricted access to a system.
"Meltdown" is the easiest to exploit of the two and is easier to fix. Companies like Microsoft have already rolled out updates to fix Windows 10. Updates and patches for Windows 7 and 8 will come at a later week.
"Spectre" is the more difficult exploit of the two, and is also harder to fix.
