Apple iOS 6.0.1 Fixes Bugs, Patches Security

It may not fix the crummy data in Apple Maps, but Apple has issued an update to the operating system for recent versions of the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch. Several bugs, including a very bad one relating to meetings in Microsoft Exchange, and several severe security vulnerabilities, were fixed. The company also released the first test version of iOS 6.1.

Larry Seltzer, Contributor

November 3, 2012

2 Min Read

Apple has released iOS 6.0.1, the first system software update for the iPhone 5. According to the company it addresses a number of bugs and 4 security vulnerabilities.

iOS 6.0.1 Downloading

Users of iPhone 3GS or later, iPad 2 or 3 and iPod Touch 4th generation or later can download and install the update using Settings-General-Software Update, or by synching through iTunes. As indicated just below, some iPhone 5 users may have to perform the update through iTunes.

Apple lists the following bugs fixed, but indicates that there are others:

Fixes a bug that prevents iPhone 5 from installing software updates wirelessly over the air
Fixes a bug where horizontal lines may be displayed across the keyboard
Fixes an issue that could cause camera flash to not go off
Improves reliability of iPhone 5 and iPod touch (5th generation) when connected to encrypted WPA2 Wi-Fi networks
Resolves an issue that prevents iPhone from using the cellular network in some instances
Consolidated the Use Cellular Data switch for iTunes Match
Fixes a Passcode Lock bug which sometimes allowed access to Passbook pass details from lock screen
Fixes a bug affecting Exchange meetings

The last bug, affecting Exchange, became somewhat notorious: If one user invited to a meeting declined, all users would be sent a cancellation notice. The bug caused so much trouble that some companies urged users not to upgrade to iOS 6.

The security issues are all serious, although it's doubtful any of them are being exploited in the wild, let alone widely. 2 are bugs in WebKit, the HTML rendering engine in iOS and many non-Apple web browsers. Both would allow compromise of the phone simply by visiting a web page. This sort of bug has been used in the past as part of jailbreaking.

At the same time, Apple released the first beta of iOS 6.1 to developers. The changes in this version sound minimal.