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Apple releases Mac OS X security update, Boot Camp 3.1

Apple releases a security update for Mac OS X Leopard and Snow Leopard, and adds support for Windows 7 in Boot Camp.

Jim Dalrymple Special to CNET News
Jim Dalrymple has followed Apple and the Mac industry for the last 15 years, first as part of MacCentral and then in various positions at Macworld. Jim also writes about the professional audio market, examining the best ways to record music using a Macintosh. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network and is not an employee of CNET. He currently runs The Loop.
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Jim Dalrymple
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Apple on Tuesday released Security Update 2010-001, a collection of fixes for users of Mac OS X Leopard (10.5) and Snow Leopard (10.6).

Apple

As with most security releases, the latest Mac OS X update fixes issues within the core system and does not add new features to built-in applications or fix application bugs.

Security Update 2010-001 fixes an issue in Mac OS X's CoreAudio where a maliciously crafted MP4 audio file could be used as a way to execute code or terminate an application on the user's computer. Image RAW's handling of DNG files has also been updated to avoid what Apple calls "arbitrary code execution."

The Flash Player plug-in has been updated to version 10.0.42 fixing multiple vulnerabilities, including code execution on the user's computer. Adobe issued an update for this in early December, but Apple has included it with this release.

Additional changes in other system level components like ImageIO, CUPS and OpenSSL provide further security for Mac OS X users.

Security Update 2010-001 is available through the software update mechanism in Mac OS X.

In addition to updating Mac OS X, Apple also released an update for users of its Boot Camp software. According to notes provided with the update, Boot Camp 3.1 "adds support for Microsoft Windows 7 (Home Premium, Professional, and Ultimate)."

The update also fixes a couple of bugs with the trackpad, turns off the digital audio LED when not in use, and adds support for wireless keyboards and the Apple Magic Mouse.

Boot Camp allows users to create a partition on a Mac and install Windows. Unlike virtualization apps like Parallels or VMware Fusion, Boot Camp users must restart their computers to use Windows.

Boot Camp 3.1 can be downloaded from Apple's support Web site.