If you haven’t updated your devices OS recently then you really should.
April was a busy month for security updates, including emergency patches for Apple’s iOS and Google Chrome to fix vulnerabilities already being used by attackers.
Microsoft has released important fixes as part of its mid-April Patch Tuesday, while Android users across multiple devices need to make sure they are applying the latest update when it becomes available.
Google Chrome Emergency Updates – Browser-based cyber attacks are very worrying because they can potentially be chained together with other vulnerabilities and used to take over your device. Because of this Google’s Chrome browser has seen several security updates in April that take the browser to version 101.0.4951.41, and fix over 30 security vulnerabilities, several rated as being high risk. You’ll need to restart Chrome after you update it to ensure it activates properly.
The Chrome issues also impact other Chromium-based browsers, including Microsoft Edge, Brave, Opera, and Vivaldi, so if you use one of those, make sure you are using the most recent version and have applied any recommended patches and updates.
Microsoft’s April Patches – Microsoft had a major Patch Tuesday in April, issuing patches and fixes for over 100 vulnerabilities,10 of which were critical, and 1 of which is already being exploited by attackers.
So if you haven’t already let your Windows device download and install updates this is something you should make sure you do.
Apple iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac and Watch – Just a few weeks after the launch of iOS 15.4, Apple has issued iOS and iPad 15.4.1 to fix a vulnerability in AppleAVD that’s already being used to attack and take over iPhone devices. The updates are available for iPhone 6s and later, iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 and later, iPad 5th generation and later, iPad mini 4 and later, and iPod touch 7th generation.
Apple also released macOS Monterey 12.3.1 which fixes the same issue in macOS, as well as tvOS 15.4.1 and watchOS 8.5.1 which include bug fixes.
Android April 2022 Patches – In April Google issued updates to patch 44 flaws in its mobile operating system. The updates were sent in two separate parts as the first was a general update applicable to the majority of Android devices, where the later update was aimed at specific devices with reported security issues. To find the update, you’ll need to check your device settings.
Mozilla Thunderbird 91.8.0 Fix – Mozilla have released a patch to fix security issues in its Firefox browser as well as its Thunderbird email client. The patch is said to fix four vulnerabilities rated as having a high impact
WordPress Plugin Elementor Version 3.6.3 – The Elementor website builder plug-in for WordPress has received a big security fix for a critical-rated vulnerability that could allow attackers to perform remote code execution and basically take over a website.
Oracle’s April 2022 Critical Patch Update – In mid-April, Oracle released its quarterly Critical Patch Update, and with it 520 security fixes, with 75 of them rated as critical severity, and around 300 of them can be exploited remotely without any authentication.
We always recommend accepting any updates your devices offer, and periodically checking you are on the most up to date versions.
