New Delhi:

The alert, listed as a high-severity threat in CERT-In’s latest vulnerability note (CIVN-2025-0094), points to a flaw in Apple’s internal messaging system that could allow any app to crash your device, even without special access.

The Indian government has issued a serious warning for iPhone and iPad users across the country. If you own an Apple device and haven’t updated your software in a while, now’s the time. The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, has flagged a major vulnerability in iOS and iPadOS that could brick your phone or tablet completely.

What’s at risk?

The bug targets Darwin notifications, a low-level part of Apple’s CoreOS layer that quietly keeps apps and processes talking to each other. But there’s a gap. A big one. According to CERT-In, any rogue app can fire off sensitive system messages without needing admin-level permissions. The result? Your iPhone or iPad could go black and unresponsive unless you restore it manually.

Total device freeze (what experts call a denial-of-service attack)

Data theft and potential privacy breach

Loss of personal files and media

Your phone being bricked until it’s restored

To make things worse, some of these attacks are already happening. CERT-In confirmed that real-world exploits are active. So this isn’t some theoretical risk.

How to protect yourself

The solution? It’s simple: update your device.

It’s also smart to avoid sketchy apps or links, especially those that don’t come from the App Store. If your phone’s been acting weird lately, freezing, crashing or randomly restarting, it might be time to run that update.

Apple has already released patches through its latest iOS and iPadOS updates. Users should head to Settings > General > Software Update and install the latest version as soon as possible. You can also check Apple’s advisory directly here.

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