If your iPhone is still running iOS 18, we have news that shouldn’t be ignored. Apple has released iOS 18.7.7 for iPhone. This new software update fixes a vulnerability that could expose your iPhone to the “DarkSword” attack, which has been targeting Apple devices worldwide.
What is the Darksaber? Why is it dangerous?
For those unfamiliar, DarkSword is a highly sophisticated “one-click” vulnerability that targets iOS versions 18.4 through iOS 18.7. Google said it used six different vulnerabilities from three different malware families – Ghostblade, Ghostknife and Ghostsaber – to deliver the final malware payload on the target device. Unlike other vulnerabilities that require the installation of a malicious application on the target device, DarkSword can be triggered on a target iPhone simply by the user visiting an infected website on the Safari web browser.
Once a target iPhone visits an infected website, the vulnerability can easily steal sensitive information from the device. Information potentially stolen by this vulnerability includes browser history, SIM card data, cellular data, Wi-Fi passwords, text messages, health data, call logs, notes, root location history, and calendar libraries.
So far, DarkSword has been used to target iPhone users in Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, and Malaysia. You can read more about the DarkSword vulnerability on iPhone here: Think your iPhone is safe? This new iOS 18 hack might change that
Why download the iOS 18.7.7 update?
Apple’s iOS 18.7.7 update fixes a vulnerability that the DarkSword exploit used to target iPhone users. Previously, this update was only available for iPhone XS, iPhone XS Max, and iPhone XR. But on April 1, 2026, Apple made this update available for more iPhone models. The list includes the iPhone 11 series, second-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 12 series, iPhone 13 series, third-generation iPhone SE, iPhone 14 series, iPhone 15 series, iPhone 16 series and iPhone 16e.
“We enabled iOS 18.7.7 for more devices on April 1, 2026, so users who turned on automatic updates automatically received important security protections from the cyberattack known as DarkSword. Fixes related to the DarkSword vulnerability were first released in 2025,” Apple wrote in its official blog post.
It is worth mentioning that iPhone models running iOS 26 are already protected against this vulnerability. With the iOS 18.7.7 update, Apple is rolling out protections for iPhone models that can’t upgrade to iOS 26 or don’t want to upgrade to the company’s latest version of the operating system.
