Reacting to a certain newly discovered bugs that could enable hackers to gain remote access to Mac machines, Apple has now released its first-ever automated security fix for the issue.
The new update has been released to fix a critical component of Apple’s OSX systems, called the Network Time Protocol, or NTP. As per Apple’s support website, several issues existed in its NTPD (Network Time Protocol Daemon) software that would have allowed an attacker to trigger buffer overflows. These issues were addressed through improved error checking.
To verify the ntpd version, users can type the following command in Terminal: what /usr/sbin/ntpd. This update includes the following versions:
- Mountain Lion: ntp-77.1.1
- Mavericks: ntp-88.1.1
- Yosemite: ntp-92.5.1
The security issue was highlighted on Friday by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute. In fact, Carnegie University’s list included a dozen more companies, including Apple, whose systems were reportedly vulnerable.
This is the first time that Apple is using its automated security update system. Though Apple developed this system two years ago, it never really used the same to give users freedom for updating their systems as per their convenience. However, considering the severity of these vulnerabilities, Apple decided to push the security update automatically.
The update is seamless, it doesn’t even require a restart.
said Apple spokesman Bill Evans.
