Apple Releases iOS 6.1.3, Fixes Lockscreen Passcode Vulnerability

Apple released iOS 6.1.3 Tuesday, a software update that makes improvements to Maps in Japan and, more importantly, fixes a bug in iOS that allowed someone to bypass the lock screen on an iPhone and access the phone app.

Built into the latest point release of iOS, 6.1.3, the fix repairs the flaw, which when exploited granted access to a device’s contacts, voicemails and photos.

The update is available for iPhone 3GS, 4 and 4S, iPhone 5, all iPads following iPad 2 and all iPod touch devices after the 4th generation iPod touch. The size of the update for the iPhone 5 is 18.2MB, while it is 28.5MB on the iPhone 4S.

The new version appears to be rolling out in waves, and iOS device owners will at some point receive a notification that their devices are eligible for an update.

The new release of iOS comes nearly a month after Apple pushed out a beta build of 6.1.3 with a fix for the lockscreen bug. 

The update also contains fixes for the Apple Maps application for Japan. Apple has been tweaking the Maps app for Japanese iDevice owners since February, focusing on pronunciation and other aspects of turn-by-turn navigation. 

Updating the iPhone’s mapping capability via a system software update, however, suggests that Apple is tying Maps deeper into the base operating system itself. Apple’s Map Kit Framework Reference already enables embedding maps directly into third-party apps, as well as supporting annotations, overlays, and reverse-geocoding lookups.

[toggle title=”Change Log”]About iOS 6.1.3 Software Update
This update contains improvements and bug fixes, including:

Fixes a bug that could allow someone to bypass the passcode and access the Phone app
Improvements to Maps in Japan
For information on the security content of this update, please visit this website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222.[/toggle]