Apple to issue emergency patch to protect iPhones from DarkSword spyware

If you needed more proof of just how bad the DarkSword spyware is, Apple is about to issue a rare patch (via Wired) that addresses the issue on phones running iOS 18.

Why is this rare? Well, typically Apple will simply tell iPhone users to upgrade to the latest version of iOS (that's iOS 26.4 right now). But this time, everyone running iOS 18 on their phones is getting a patch of their own.

DarkSword is a web based tool that enables malicious hackers to steal data from iPhones, and it's publicly available for everyone to use. Apple already patched iOS 26 against DarkSword, but iOS 18 remains unprotected at writing time. As for why anyone would want to run iOS 18, there are folks who are simply slow to update their phone, and then there are those that may not want to switch to Apple's new "Liquid Glass" user interface that debuted in iOS 26.

It's not a small group. A survey by TelemetryDeck indicated that roughly 19 percent of all iPhone users were running iOS 18 at the end of February.

An Apple spokesperson told Wired that the new patch will be issued on Wednesday morning. This patch will not upgrade the phone to iOS 26; instead, users will remain on iOS 18, but will be safe against DarkSword.

Apple, of course, still encourages all users to update to iOS 26 and receive the company's "most advanced protections."