For those who have yet to get their hands on the public beta of iOS 18, Apple has released iOS 17.6, which includes 35 critical security fixes to help keep your phone safe from hackers and other malicious types. If you normally hold off on updating your phone for any reason, we recommend that you install iOS 17.6 immediately.

This software update fixes an issue with the kernel of the iOS operating system. Apple did not go into too many specifics, as they want to make sure users can update before the entire hacking world knows about all the exploits. Once everything is made public, it will be easier for hackers to take advantage of these exploits, especially the kernel bug.

Apple provided some information about the exploits. First, in the kernel, the bugs are tracked as CVE-2024-27863 and CVE-2024-40788. The former could allow an attacker to determine the memory layout of the kernel, while the latter could allow a hacker to cause an unexpected system shutdown. Neither outcome is good, especially if it can be circumvented with a simple update.

Another notable fix relates to Siri, where an attacker with physical access to the phone could potentially use Apple's personal assistant to access sensitive user data. Several similar fixes have been made to shortcuts, allowing attackers to use shortcuts to bypass security and access sensitive user data.

As mentioned earlier, there are a total of 35 fixes outlined on Apple's iOS 17.6 support page, so if you're curious about the kinds of issues you were running into with your phone before the update, it breaks everything down for you. There is no evidence that these exploits are being used in the wild, but it's only a matter of time.

The iPhone is already near the top of our best phones list and this extra layer of security provided by iOS 17.6 is just the icing on the cake. If you don't know how to update your iPhone, read our guide.