Apple launches iOS 18.5 update — reasons to download now

Apple has released the iOS 18.5 update, giving iPhone users 33 good reasons to install it as soon as possible. The patch package covers dozens of vulnerabilities, including critical bugs in the system Kernel and WebKit engine, so the company prefers not to reveal technical details before most people have updated.

Forbes writes about it.

Why it is important to upgrade to iOS 18.5

Two Kernel bugs have been fixed in the heart of iOS that could allow a remote attacker to force a shutdown of an application or the entire system. Several bugs have been fixed in WebKit, including CVE-2025-24213 — a type confusion that could lead to memory corruption discovered by the Google V8 security team.

Among other patches:

• in Core Bluetooth, the risk of unauthorized application access to confidential data has been eliminated;
• fixed a bug in the iCloud document sharing mechanism that allowed sharding to be enabled without authentication;
• mDNSResponder (CVE-2025-31222) has been updated to fix a privilege escalation vulnerability;The update also affected the third-party libexpat component (CVE-2024-8176), which had the potential to execute arbitrary code.

In addition to security, iOS 18.5 brings improved privacy protection for artificial intelligence features, new features in Mail and the colorful Pride Harmony wallpaper, and fixes bugs that appeared after version 18.4.1. While there have been no confirmed attacks, experts warn that until the details of the vulnerabilities are made public, the window of opportunity for hackers is limited, so you should not delay the update.

You can update all smartphones, starting with the iPhone XS, as well as modern iPads: from the 13-inch iPad Pro and the 12.9-inch third-generation iPad to the 5th-generation iPad Mini. You can install the update from the Settings — General — Software Update menu.

Apple recommends that you install iOS 18.5 as soon as you see the notification to prevent attackers from exploiting any vulnerabilities.

As a reminder, the iOS 19 update introduces a small but handy feature that automatically syncs credentials for public Wi-Fi networks between all Apple devices. All you have to do is fill out a form on one of them, and the rest of the devices will connect to the network without re-entering it.

We also wrote that with each new iOS update, Apple introduces many useful features that not everyone knows about. Some of these tools arrived with iOS 18 without much fanfare, while others have been tucked away for years in deep settings where users rarely go. Still, these features can make everyday tasks much easier.