A hacking kit called DarkSword currently aims at iPhone running iOS 18 by exploiting flaws in the Safari browser. A simple visit to a trapped website is enough for the attacker to execute code remotely and take control of the smartphone, without clicking or installing an application.
Faced with this threat, Apple is breaking its habits and urgently deploying a dedicated security update, iOS 18.7.7. If you kept iOS 18 instead of moving to iOS 26you are among the main targets of DarkSword and you should install this patch as soon as it appears.
DarkSword on iOS 18: the hack that can take control of your iPhone
Discovered in March 2026, DarkSword combines several vulnerabilities ofiOS 18mainly at the level of WebKit, the engine of Safari. Hackers set up specially compromised sites; as soon as you load them, the exploit chain triggers in the background and gives them deep access to the system.
The data involved is not trivial: messages, photos, browsing history, geolocation, stored passwords, even cryptocurrency wallets can be siphoned off. Hundreds of millions of iPhones remaining on iOS 18.x are potentially affected, which explains Apple’s unusual reaction.
Is your iPhone running iOS 18 vulnerable to DarkSword, and how can you protect yourself?
In practice, any iPhone still on a limb iOS 18.x less than 18.7.7 should be considered vulnerable to DarkSword. To check your situation, open Settings, then General, then Information and look at the Version line: if you see 18.4, 18.5, 18.6 or 18.7.6, you are in the red zone.
The priority solution is to install the patch: go to Settings, General, Software Update and let the system search iOS 18.7.7 or directly iOS 26. On very old models, Apple also offers specific updates (iOS 15.8.7 or 16.7.15) which close the same flaws. If you really can’t update right away, turn on Isolation Mode in the security settings and limit browsing to unknown sites as much as possible.
iOS 18.7.7 or iOS 26: which update to install on your iPhone now?
Until now, Apple no longer updated an old version on devices compatible with the new one. DarkSword was a game changer: iOS 18.7.7 was first offered to iPhones stuck on iOS 18, then extended to all models still on this branch, even those that could upgrade to iOS 26. Apple confirmed to Wired that “tomorrow, we will make an iOS 18 update available to more devices so that users who have automatic updates enabled can automatically receive important security protections.”
Concretely, if your iPhone supports iOS 26it is today the safest choice: protections against DarkSword are integrated, and you will also receive future patches. If you still refuse to upgrade to iOS 26, at the bare minimum, install iOS 18.7.7 without delay to neutralize this hack, then plan to migrate to iOS 26 as soon as possible.