Apple iOS 4.3.4 patches PDF hole exploited by jailbreakers

Apple Friday issued a software security update designed to fix a Safari PDF rendering system vulnerability exploited by jailbreakers and that could have been used by hackers to infect Apple’s mobile devices, including iPhone 4 and iPad 2.

The flaw was made known last week.

In issuing the iOS 4.3.4 software update Apple said that the security flaws could have resulted in “an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution” and “malicious code running as the user to gain system privileges.” (Version 4.2.9 is the update for Verizon iPhones.)

Given that Apple has sold some 25 million iPads since the product debuted last year and has sold 18 million-plus iPhones during the first three months of this year, such a security issue could affect many customers indeed.

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The AppAdvice website warned jailbreakers, those who dive into the innards of their Apple devices much to Apple’s dismay, not to download the update if they want to continue using the JailbreakMe.com 3.0 PDF exploit. JailbreakMe exploits have been around for a couple of years, forcing Apple to play a game of cat and mouse.

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Read more about anti-malware in Network World's Anti-malware section.

Tags smartphoneswirelessAppleNetworkingconsumer electronicsiOS 4.3.4

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