Apple's iOS 17.4 iPhone update adds some critical security updates - install it now

Apple released iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 to the public earlier this week and you've likely already seen plenty of news about what they have to offer. In particular, the new updates bring support for third-party app stores for the first time - but only if you happen to be in the European Union. But while that's a vital feature and a big addition for those in an EU member country, there's something arguably more important - and it's something that is applicable to owners of iPhones and iPads everywhere.

We're of course talking about a pair of vital security improvements that are designed to deal with vulnerabilities that could have allowed someone to gain access to a user's device without their permission. Notably, Apple says that it is also aware of the possibility that the bugs have been actively exploited by bad actors.

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The issues, which are related to RTKit and kernel vulnerabilities, are notable because of the potential for someone to gain control of a device not to mention Apple's admittance that they might have been exploited. Apple has now fixed the memory corruption issues and improved validation to patch things up with the release of iOS 17.4 and iPadOS 17.4 however, and for that reason, we would suggest that people download and install these updates now rather than wait.

Installing the updates is of course free and all devices that have a previous version of iOS 17 installed are compatible with this update. The update process can be followed by opening the Settings app, tapping General, and then choosing the Software Update option.