Business others new iPad Pro with M1 chips bugged by ahardware-level security flaw
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CIO Bulletin
2021-05-28
According to a new report, it has been found that the iPad Pro with the latest M1 chip has an irreparable security flaw. The M1 chip has been praised by technology enthusiasts due to its efficient performance, outperforming even desktop computers in some cases. It has made way to Apple’s other products including, MacBooks, iMacs, iMac mini, and even the iPad Pro.
According to developer Hector Martin, the M1-based iPad Pro has a vulnerability that exists on a hardware level of the M1. This means it cannot be fixed by just pushing an OTA update. As per the research, Apple has also violated an Arm architecture specification requirement as well.
The developer further explains that the flaw allows two applications to covertly exchange data without using OS features. This vulnerability has still not caused any serious damage. In a worst-case scenario, it could enable advertisers for cross-app tracking but cannot be used to steal sensitive information or take control of the device. But as it has been highlighted, it can be misused by hackers or developers in the future. However, the flaw still violates the OS security model.
Further, this issue can affect the device running on A14 Bionic as well, as it shares the same CPU microarchitecture with the M1 chip. For now, the only possible repair is to run the entire OS as a virtual machine, which is technically not practical. The issue could be fixed in future versions of the chips, which comes after M1.
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