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Earlier this week, Apple released iOS 14.7.1, iPadOS 14.7.1 and macOS Big Sur 11.5.1 for all users. Now the company has released watchOS 7.6.1.
Apple has announced important updates for iPhone and Co., which have fixed bugs as well as dangerous vulnerabilities. Now another Apple Watch update follows - watchOS 7.6.1. You can download and install the update by starting the Watch app on your iPhone and then going to General -> Software Update.
watchOS 7.6.1: Bug fixes & performance improvements
Please note: You must first have iOS 14.7.1 installed to perform the update. In terms of new features, it is expected that the update will include performance improvements as well as bug fixes and security updates. (Photo by Unsplash / AB)
Update from July 28th:
Apple seems to have removed the watchOS 7.6.1 update from its servers for some reason. Perhaps a last-minute bug was discovered or something similar. Once the update is made available again, we will update the article again. The update originally had the build number: 18U70.
Update from July 29th:
Apple has now officially made watchOS 7.6.1 available for download for all users worldwide without any backtracking. It is not known why the update was withdrawn yesterday. However, it has the same build number: 18U70. You can download and install the update by starting the Watch app on your iPhone and then going to General -> Software Update.
watchOS 7.6.1: An important security update
According to Apple's security advisory, watchOS 7.6.1 fixed an IOMobileFrameBuffer bug that could be actively exploited to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The security page states:
- IOMobileFrameBuffer
- Available for: Apple Watch Series 3 and later
- Impact: An application may be able to execute arbitrary code with kernel privileges. Apple is aware of a report that this issue may have been actively exploited.
- Description: A memory corruption issue was addressed through improved memory handling.
- CVE-2021-30807: an anonymous researcher
