Have Apple Watch? Beware! Here is a huge govt warning for users

Is your Apple Watch running on watchOS 8.6 or older version? You need to update it NOW, else you will remain at high risk, government warned.

Apple Watch users have been asked to update their watch to the latest version to avoid threats. (Amritanshu / HT Tech)

The government has warned Apple Watch users as they are under a big threat of being hacked! The government recently flagged a ‘high severity' risk for Apple Watch users and mentioned that multiple vulnerabilities in these watches make the users an easy target for hackers. The government specifically warned the Apple Watch models running watchOS versions that are older than watchOS 8.7.

The government referred to these vulnerabilities as a high severity rating, which could allow an online attacker to run an arbitrary code on the Apple Watch while bypassing the security check on any targeted Watch running on watchOS 8.6 and previous versions by sending a specially-crafted request.

These detected vulnerabilities exist due to a buffer overflow in the AppleAVD component, an authorization issue in the AppleMobility File Integrity component, and out-of-bounds write in Audio, ICU, and WebKit components. The nodal agency for cybersecurity has also mentioned other possible reasons for these vulnerabilities in Apple Watch including “type confusion in Multi-touch component, Multiple out-of-bounds write and memory corruption in GPU Drivers component, out-of-bounds read in Kernel component, and memory initialisation in libxml2 component (sic).”

Apple confirmed the HIGH risk vulnerabilities for Apple Watch users

Apple has also confirmed these vulnerabilities on its Apple security support page which highlighted that under AppleAVD impact, remote hackers can cause kernel code execution to leave the Apple Watch user vulnerable. The Apple support page shared a document that describes the security content of watchOS 8.7 along with a long list of impacted areas along with the researchers who reported the issues.

What should Apple Watch users do

To avoid any potential risk and being the victim of any online fraud, the government has suggested Apple Watch to apply necessary patches by updating to the latest available version. Apple Security Updates website also listed the possible vulnerabilities. To update your watch, just simply open the Settings app on your watch, then tap General and go to the Software Update.