Slashdot: Apple Claims ‘Most Significant Upgrade to Memory Safety’ in OS History

Sep 14, 2025

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Source URL: https://apple.slashdot.org/story/25/09/14/228211/apple-claims-most-significant-upgrade-to-memory-safety-in-os-history?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Source: Slashdot
Title: Apple Claims ‘Most Significant Upgrade to Memory Safety’ in OS History

Feedly Summary:

AI Summary and Description: Yes

Summary: Apple has introduced a groundbreaking security feature called Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) in its latest devices, which significantly enhances memory safety and aims to defend against sophisticated spyware attacks. This feature showcases Apple’s comprehensive approach to security by leveraging enhanced memory tagging and secure memory allocators to protect key application surfaces in iOS.

Detailed Description:

– Apple’s security blog highlights that widespread malware attacks against iPhones have not occurred, primarily due to their robust security measures. The only notable attacks identified involve mercenary spyware, often associated with state-sponsored actors, which exploits costly vulnerability chains.
– The company has announced the integration of a new, always-on memory safety protection, MIE, in its iPhone 17 models and iPhone Air.
– Notably, the spyware targeting iOS shares vulnerabilities with those affecting other platforms like Windows and Android, emphasizing a common security challenge across the industry. Apple’s focus on improving memory safety includes:
– Development with safe programming languages.
– Implementation of mitigations at scale to enhance overall security.
– Apple collaborated with Arm to refine the Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) specification based on prior evaluations, marking a major step in security enhancement. Key points include:
– Detection of weaknesses in the original Arm Memory Tagging Extension, leading to rigorous updates.
– Effective deployment of EMTE is expected to revolutionize memory safety, transforming basic memory management tools into innovative security features.
– Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) is propelling Apple to the forefront of consumer operating system security. The critical features involve:
– Utilizing secure memory allocators in conjunction with EMTE in synchronous mode.
– Fortifying defenses against memory corruption vulnerabilities, significantly complicating the development of exploit chains.
– Being incorporated directly into both hardware and software of recent Apple devices, ensuring strong protection measures are always active.
– Apple asserts that memory safety and security have reached a new pinnacle, as MIE is anticipated to disrupt advanced exploitation techniques that have persisted for the last 25 years, ultimately reshaping the memory safety landscape in consumer products.

This initiative positions Apple as a leader in security innovation, offering professionals in the fields of security, compliance, and IT infrastructure critical insights into evolving defensive strategies against increasingly sophisticated cyber threats.

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