Apple deploys first-ever automatic patch to fix NTP flaw

By Gregg Keizer
Computerworld | Dec 23, 2014 7:05 PM PT
 
Apple on Monday used an automatic security update mechanism for the first time to deploy a fix for a critical vulnerability in NTP, or Network Time Protocol, that was uncovered by a Google engineer.
 
The update for OS X Mountain Lion, Mavericks and Yosemite will be automatically downloaded to and installed on Macs whose owners have not changed a default setting in the operating system's preferences, Apple confirmed today.
"In light of a security threat to Unix-based systems including OS X, we've used an automatic security feature to update OS X systems and protect our users as quickly as possible," Apple spokesman Bill Evans said in an emailed statement. In that statement, Evans called the NTP bug a "critical" flaw. "The update is seamless -- it doesn't even require a restart," Evans added.
 
 
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