SINGAPORE – Owners of Apple devices are advised to install the latest software update which addresses two security vulnerabilities, as well as an overheating issue plaguing the newly-released iPhone 15 models.

At-risk devices include several models of the iPhone and iPad lines of products, said the Singapore Cyber Emergency Response Team (SingCert) in an alert on Thursday.

Both vulnerabilities are zero-day ones, or security weaknesses that are unknown to the software provider and can be exploited by malicious actors.

The first allowed hackers to gain access to a victim’s device, even without the user having installed any malicious apps in the first place.

Apple said on its website that it may have been actively exploited on devices that run versions of iOS earlier than version 16.6.

Meanwhile, the second vulnerability could see hackers execute arbitrary code after causing a “buffer overflow”, in which they pump in more data than a program is designed to handle and thus overwriting it.

The devices affected are:

• iPhone XS and later
• iPad Pro 12.9-inch (second generation and later)
• iPad Pro 10.5-inch
• iPad Pro 11-inch (first generation and later)
• iPad Air (third generation and later)
• iPad (sixth generation and later)
• iPad mini (fifth generation and later)

“Users of the affected products are advised to update to the latest versions immediately,” said SingCert, with the Apple website listing the iOS and iPadOS 17.0.3 updates, released on Wednesday, as the most current.

The iOS 17.0.3 update specifically also addresses an issue that could cause iPhones to “run warmer than expected”.

Complaints had been piling after those who purchased models of the newly-launched iPhone 15 series said their phones were becoming too hot to handle.

The higher temperatures were attributed to an increase in background activity when first setting up the phone and restoring data, as well as third-party apps such as social media platform Instagram and racing game Asphalt 9 overloading the system.

However, the latest update should remedy the issue, said Apple on its website.

These updates can be applied manually, but SingCert recommended that Apple users enable automatic software updates, which can be done by going to settings > general > software update > enable automatic updates.