O'Grady's PowerPage

Tag: 10.13.1

  • Apple has partially repaired effects of Intel “KPTI” memory/security bug, will add additional fixed in macOS High Sierra 10.13.3

    Following public disclosure of a security flaw with nearly every Intel processor produced for the last 15 years, concern grew that a fix may take up to 30 percent of the processing power away from a system. But Apple appears to have at least partially fixed the problem with December’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 with additional fixes seeming likely appear to be coming in macOS 10.13.3.

    A number of anonymous sources within Apple have confirmed that routines exist within macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 that could grant applications access to protected kernel memory data. These measures, alongside existing programming requirements regarding kernel memory that Apple has implemented over the past decade, seem to have mitigated much of the issue.

    The fix was further confirmed by developer Alex Ionescu, who called the code regarding the issue the “Double Map.”

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  • Apple releases fix for root user bug in macOS 10.13 High Sierra

    Apple has released a fix for the now-infamous root bug in macOS High Sierra.

    The company released its Apple Security Update 2017-001 update on Wednesday. The update, a 2.1 megabyte download, can be located and installed via the App Store app. Open this program, click on “Updates” and the patch will appear as a security update that can be installed without needing to restart your Mac.

    Apple offered the following comment regarding the fix:

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  • Apple releases security updates for KRACK, other exploits in macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 update, Security Update 2017-004

    A few critical security updates also shipped out with Tuesday’s macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 update.

    Apple also released Security Update 2017-004 and Security Update 2017-001 macOS Sierra, which address the KRACK security exploit.

    KRACK is a vulnerability in the WPA2 encryption standard for Wi-Fi networks that lets attackers decrypt the data passing to and from a specific device. The vulnerability exists in most any device capable of using WPA2 on Wi-Fi networks and once it was publicly disclosed product manufacturers started scrambling to release patches.

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  • Apple releases macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 update

    It’s not the heftiest update in the world, but it could be helpful. On Tuesday, Apple released its macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 update.

    The update adds the following fixes and changes:

    – Fixes a bug where Bluetooth appeared as unavailable during Apple Pay transactions.

    – Improves the reliability of Microsoft Exchange message sync in Mail.

    – Fixes an issue where Spotlight does not accept keyboard input.

    – Improves the reliability of SMB printing.

    – Makes Touch ID preferences accessible while logged in as a mobile account on MacBook Pro with Touch Bar.

    – Adds support for unlocking a FileVault-encrypted APFS volume using a recovery keychain file. For details, enter man diskutil in Terminal.

    As always, the update can be found via the App Store under the “Updates” tab. If you’ve had a chance to try the macOS High Sierra 10.13.1 update and have any feedback to offer, please let us know about your experience in the comments.

  • Apple releases first macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, iOS 11.1, tvOS 11.1 public betas

    If you’re feeling curious or brave this week, Apple has released the first public betas of macOS High Sierra 10.13.1, iOS 11.1, and tvOS 11.1.

    It doesn’t look like there are major changes in these beta releases and instead seem to be bug fixes and minor refinements. Apple released the developer betas on Wednesday and followed up with the public betas on Thursday.

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