Apple introduces Memory Integrity Enforcement in iPhone 17 and iPhone Air
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Apple has introduced Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) in its new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models. This security feature provides always-on memory safety protection across critical attack surfaces, including the kernel and over 70 userland processes. MIE is designed to prevent memory corruption exploits, particularly those used by mercenary spyware in targeted attacks. The technology leverages Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) and Tag Confidentiality Enforcement (TCE) to enhance memory safety and block common vulnerability classes such as buffer overflows and use-after-free bugs. The A19 and A19 Pro chips in these iPhone models are specifically designed to support MIE without sacrificing device performance. This development aims to make zero-day exploits more difficult by transforming MTE into a robust security feature.
Timeline
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10.09.2025 13:21 đ° 1 articles
Apple introduces Memory Integrity Enforcement in iPhone 17 and iPhone Air
Apple has revealed Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) in its new iPhone 17 and iPhone Air models. This security feature provides always-on memory safety protection across critical attack surfaces, including the kernel and over 70 userland processes. MIE is designed to prevent memory corruption exploits, particularly those used by mercenary spyware in targeted attacks. The technology leverages Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) and Tag Confidentiality Enforcement (TCE) to enhance memory safety and block common vulnerability classes such as buffer overflows and use-after-free bugs.
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- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
Information Snippets
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Memory Integrity Enforcement (MIE) is a new security feature in iPhone 17 and iPhone Air.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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MIE provides always-on memory safety protection across critical attack surfaces.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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MIE is built on Enhanced Memory Tagging Extension (EMTE) and Tag Confidentiality Enforcement (TCE).
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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A19 and A19 Pro chips are designed to support MIE without performance degradation.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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MIE blocks buffer overflows and use-after-free bugs, common vulnerability classes.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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MIE transforms Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) into a security feature from a debugging tool.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21
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TCE secures memory allocators against side-channel and speculative execution attacks.
First reported: 10.09.2025 13:21đ° 1 source, 1 articleShow sources
- Apple iPhone Air and iPhone 17 Feature A19 Chips With Spyware-Resistant Memory Safety â thehackernews.com â 10.09.2025 13:21