With the release of macOS Monterey 12.3.1 on March 31, Apple has fixed two zero-day exploits in its operating system. However, the company is yet to patch these exploits in macOS Big Sur and macOS Catalina – as these versions were likely affected by the same vulnerabilities and are still supported by the company.
According to Apple, the exploit allowed malicious apps to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. A second exploit found in the Intel Graphics drivers could lead to the disclosure of kernel memory.
While Mac users running the latest version of macOS Monterey are now safe, the same can’t be said for those who still have macOS Big Sur or macOS Catalina installed for some reason. As noted by Intego, Apple has not yet given any signs that it will release corresponding security updates (as it usually does) for previous versions of macOS.
When it comes to macOS, Apple releases security updates for two previous versions of the operating system. That’s because some users need more time to upgrade due to software compatibility, while others are unable to upgrade their Macs as they have been discontinued by the company.
Last year, Apple announced that it would provide security updates for users who remained on iOS 14. However, after a few months, the company stopped providing security patches for the previous version of iOS, forcing users to upgrade to iOS 15. In this case, all devices running iOS 14 can be upgraded to iOS 15, but there are Macs that can’t run macOS Monterey.
The report reached out to Apple, but the company didn’t respond to a request for comment.
