Apple Silicon Security Vulnerability Found in the M2 MacBook Air and iPhone 12

According to some recent pieces of information, a few Apple Silicon GPUs have been reinfected with a security vulnerability. It could enable hackers to access the sensitive data. The security flaw named ‘LeftoverLocals’ was discovered by Trail of Bits, the cybersecurity firm. It permits data processed in the GPU’s local memory to be retrieved by attackers having local access to a device. Well, this is quite concerning since GPUs have wide applications in AI apps.

The vulnerability, according to the business, lets an attacker listen in on another user’s interactive LLM session and perhaps obtain private data. Apple informed Wired that the same problem was reported in recent devices powered by the A17 Pro and M3 chips. However, the problem was fixed with the help of several patches. According to the Trail of Bits investigation, a security patch was also rolled out to the third-generation iPad Air.

In addition to this, some older devices, including the iPhone 12 and M2 MacBook Air, still possess vulnerable GPUs. It means they are still susceptible to attacks by hackers. The company has rolled out the patches to some. However, there is no clue when the company will roll out the security patches to other impacted models or how the company will directly address this issue.

Since the LeftoverLocals vulnerability necessitates physical access to the device, remote exploitation is extremely unlikely. Apple, on the other hand, always boosts users to ensure that their devices run on the latest available software updates along with security fixes.