Apple has released iOS 18.5 bringing a new Pride wallpaper, tweaks for some apps and important security fixes.
Apple releases a new Pride wallpaper ahead of Pride Month every year, and this year is no exception. iOS 18.5 includes the latest iteration of the wallpaper, “Pride Harmony,” which features bold stripes that shift and change position as you move.
Apple has introduced a few Mail app updates in iOS 18.5. One of those updates makes it easier to adjust the app’s settings by showing or hiding contact photos in Mail.
Mail will show Contact Posters by default, but you can turn them off from within the app with iOS 18.5.
To do so, open Mail, tap the three dots (…) in the top-right corner of your screen, and then tap Show Contact Photos. Now, all your emails will just show the subject line and a preview of the message, similar to how Mail looked before iOS 18.
This option is in iOS 18.4, but it’s buried in Settings and not easy to locate.
Another update concerns Categories. If the mode is enabled, you can see a small tab on the right side of your screen near the other categories. Swipe the categories bar near the top of Mail to the left, and this small tab will expand to reveal the category All Mail.
When you swipe left to view All Mail, it will automatically be selected, and you’ll need to tap one of the other Categories to unselect All Mail.
This category isn’t new; you could find it in iOS 18.4. But, there was no small tab on the right side of your screen to signal it was present off-screen.
This category appears to be a way to simultaneously enable Categories and List View — the pre-Categories view of Mail. When you use All Mail, you’re viewing your messages without any categorization, like in List View.
Back Tap Banner
iOS 18.5 introduces the option to display a banner using the Back Tap function. Back Tap turns the Apple logo on the back of your iPhone into a usable button that can open your camera, take a screenshot and more when you double- or triple-tap it.
With iOS 18.5, you can make your iPhone display a banner whenever you use Back Tap.
To enable the banner, go to Settings > Accessibility > Touch > Back Tap and tap the toggle next to Show Banner. If you enable the banner and use Back Tap, the banner will appear across the top of your screen and read, “Back Tap Double/Triple Tap detected.”
In addition, Parents now receive a notification when the Screen Time passcode is used on a child’s device and Buy with iPhone is available when purchasing content within the Apple TV app on a third-party device.
Finally, iOS 18.5 fixes an issue where the Apple Vision Pro app may display a black screen.
iOS 18.5 Security Updates
AppleJPEG
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted media file may lead to unexpected app termination or corrupt process memory
Description: The issue was addressed with improved input sanitization.
Baseband
Available for: iPhone 16e
Impact: An attacker in a privileged network position may be able to intercept network traffic
Description: This issue was addressed through improved state management.
Call History
Available for: iPhone XS and later
Impact: Call history from deleted apps may still appear in spotlight search results
Description: A privacy issue was addressed by removing sensitive data.
Core Bluetooth
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An app may be able to access sensitive user data
Description: This issue was addressed through improved state management.
CoreAudio
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Parsing a file may lead to an unexpected app termination
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
CoreGraphics
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Parsing a file may lead to disclosure of user information
Description: An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking.
CoreMedia
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Parsing a file may lead to an unexpected app termination
Description: A use-after-free issue was addressed with improved memory management.
Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted video file may lead to unexpected app termination or corrupt process memory
Description: The issue was addressed with improved input sanitization.
FaceTime
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Muting the microphone during a FaceTime call may not result in audio being silenced
Description: This issue was addressed through improved state management.
Impact: Processing web content may lead to a denial-of-service
Description: The issue was addressed with improved UI.
FrontBoard
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An app may be able to enumerate a user’s installed apps
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
iCloud Document Sharing
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An attacker may be able to turn on sharing of an iCloud folder without authentication
Description: This issue was addressed with additional entitlement checks.
ImageIO
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Processing a maliciously crafted image may lead to a denial-of-service
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
Kernel
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory
Description: The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
Impact: A remote attacker may cause an unexpected app termination
Description: A double free issue was addressed with improved memory management.
libexpat
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Multiple issues in libexpat, including unexpected app termination or arbitrary code execution
Description: This is a vulnerability in open source code and Apple Software is among the affected projects. The CVE-ID was assigned by a third party. Learn more about the issue and CVE-ID at cve.org.
Mail Addressing
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: Processing an email may lead to user interface spoofing
Description: An injection issue was addressed with improved input validation.
mDNSResponder
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: A user may be able to elevate privileges
Description: A correctness issue was addressed with improved checks.
Notes
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An attacker with physical access to a device may be able to access notes from the lock screen
Description: The issue was addressed with improved authentication.
Available for: iPhone XS and later
Impact: An attacker with physical access to a device may be able to access a deleted call recording
Description: A logic issue was addressed with improved checks.
Pro Res
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: An app may be able to cause unexpected system termination
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
Impact: An attacker may be able to cause unexpected system termination or corrupt kernel memory
Description: The issue was addressed with improved input sanitization.
Security
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: A remote attacker may be able to leak memory
Description: An integer overflow was addressed with improved input validation.
WebKit
Available for: iPhone XS and later, iPad Pro 13-inch, iPad Pro 12.9-inch 3rd generation and later, iPad Pro 11-inch 1st generation and later, iPad Air 3rd generation and later, iPad 7th generation and later, and iPad mini 5th generation and later
Impact: A type confusion issue could lead to memory corruption
Description: This issue was addressed with improved handling of floats.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to memory corruption
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to memory corruption
Description: The issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected Safari crash
Description: The issue was addressed with improved input validation.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected process crash
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected Safari crash
Description: A type confusion issue was addressed with improved state handling.
Impact: A malicious website may exfiltrate data cross-origin
Description: The issue was addressed with improved checks.
Impact: Processing maliciously crafted web content may lead to an unexpected Safari crash
Description: This issue was addressed with improved memory handling.
iOS 18.5 Supported Devices
- iPhone 16
- iPhone 16 Plus
- iPhone 16 Pro
- iPhone 16 Pro Max
- iPhone 15
- iPhone 15 Plus
- iPhone 15 Pro
- iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 14
- iPhone 14 Plus
- iPhone 14 Pro
- iPhone 14 Pro Max
- iPhone 13
- iPhone 13 mini
- iPhone 13 Pro
- iPhone 13 Pro Max
- iPhone 12
- iPhone 12 mini
- iPhone 12 Pro
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
- iPhone 11
- iPhone 11 Pro
- iPhone 11 Pro Max
- iPhone Xs
- iPhone XS Max
As normal, to update to iOS 18.5 go to your iPhone Settings > General > Software Update and install iOS 18.5 as soon as you possibly can.
