Apple Releases iPhone OS 3.1.3 with Security Fixes

by Simon Ng on February 3, 2010



While we are wishing Apple to rollout a major update for iPhone OS (say, iPhone 3.2 or 4.0), it turns out Apple hopes us to wait for a little while.

On Tuesday, Apple released a minor bug fix version for iPhone OS pushing the version number from 3.1.2 to 3.1.3. The new update is mainly for bug fixes including:

  • Improves accuracy of reported battery level on iPhone 3GS
  • Resolves issue where third-party apps would not launch in some instances
  • Fixes bug that may cause an app to crash when using the Japanese Kana keyboard


According the release note, this release also offers a number of security fixes for various known issues:

  • CoreAudio: A buffer overflow exists in the handling of mp4 audio files. Playing a maliciously crafted mp4 audio file may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution. This issue is addressed through improved bounds checking.
  • ImageIO: A buffer underflow exists in ImageIO’s handling of TIFF images. Viewing a maliciously crafted TIFF image may lead to an unexpected application termination or arbitrary code execution.
  • Recovery Mode: A memory corruption issue exists in the handling of a certain USB control message. A person with physical access to the device could use this to bypass the passcode and access the user’s data.
  • WebKit: Multiple input validation issues exist in WebKit’s handling of FTP directory listings. Also, Mail may load remote audio and video content when remote image loading is disabled

For details about security fixes, you can further check out Apple’s Support document. To upgrade to the latest version of iPhone OS, simply connect your iPhone with computer and upgrade it via iTunes.

Jailbreaker, please take note…

Despite with all the bug fixes and minor improvements, please hold off the OS upgrade if you are using a jailbroken iPhone. Most of the jailbreak tools (e.g. blackra1n) are not yet compatible with iPhone OS 3.1.3. As of now, only redsn0w offers jailbreaking support for OS 3.1.3 on certain devices (only iPhone 2G & 3G). So, what you have to do is stay away from the upgrade. Even iTunes prompts you to upgrade the OS, remember to say “No”.

After all, this is just a minor upgrade. If you’re not adventurous, I’ll suggest you to wait until the release of iPhone OS 3.2 (or 4.0), which is more imminent. Stay tuned.

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Tagged as: apple, iPhone, iPhone OS, iPhone OS 3.1.3

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