ARM Security Update Suggests Several iPhones, iPods, iPads, and Apple TVs Could Be Vulnerable to the Newfound Security Bug

Apple’s A series of processors used in iPhones, iPads, iPod Touch, and Apple TVs could be susceptible to the new security bug that was confirmed by Intel as well as AMD and ARM. These apply to practically every Intel processor launched in the last decade, and requires a complete system redesign of macOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems. This patch, however, will seemingly lead to a performance drop in some devices.

ARM’s new security update talks about the possibility of some Apple processors being affected too, mainly since Apple’s A series of chips are based on ARM’s design and architecture. As of now, the Cortex-A8, Cortex-A9 and Cortex-A15 are said to be affected, with some part of its architecture used in devices like iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5, iPhone 5C, iPad (1st gen), iPad 2, iPad (3rd gen), Apple TV (2nd gen), Apple TV (3rd gen), iPod Touch (4th gen), iPod Touch (5th gen).

Bear in mind that this is only a preliminary list, and the full list could include a few more Apple devices. As for the bug, it is said that performance slowdowns can be expected, while a security flaw leaves the kernel memory area vulnerable for malware attacks.

Apple is yet to comment on this, but it seems like a word is coming soon. The company recently got itself into trouble by admitting to slow down iPhone batteries year after year with each iOS upgrade. Consequently, the company started offering iPhone battery upgrades for as low as $29, down from $79 for every iPhone launched between 2014 and 2016, including the iPhone 7 and the 7 Plus.