Home Apple Fixes Major Mac Vulnerability With OS X 10.9.2 Update

Apple Fixes Major Mac Vulnerability With OS X 10.9.2 Update

Apple on Tuesday released OS X 10.9.2, which offers a fix for the major security vulnerability that affects how Mac computers can securely connect to websites via Wi-Fi or cellular.

All users running OS X 10.9 Mavericks are recommended to upgrade to 10.9.2 as soon as possible to eradicate the exploit. Apple also offered security updates for Mac users running on Lion (OS X 10.7) or Mountain Lion (OS X 10.8).

The flaw, apparently introduced by a single line of errant code within Apple’s SSL/TLS verification protocols, which are used to transmit secure information, allowed for malicious hackers to intercept and modify supposedly safe data from Apple’s Safari Web browser. The issue was patched in iOS devices with Friday’s release of iOS 7.0.6, but at the time Apple merely promised a fix for Mac computers running OS X 10.9 or later “very soon.”

In addition to the emergency bug fix, the release of OS X 10.9.2 also comes with a number of improvements to the operating system, including FaceTime Audio for Mac, new blocking options on iMessage and FaceTime, call waiting support for FaceTime, AutoFill enhancements, and several other bug fixes.

Photo by Flickr user David Bueso

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