A look at the latest Safari update – important update, also for users of other browsers | News

An update for the Safari browser is also recommended for those who use another browser in everyday life, such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge. In addition to the actual website viewer, the update includes a revised WebKit engine. The update to Safari 26.5 was released on May 12th – parallel to the update to macOS Tahoe with the same version number. This can also be installed on two older versions of macOS. Apple has now published a list of the security-relevant components of macOS 26.5 – and it is extensive.

Apple lists a total of ten independent WebKit improvements as well as a bug fix for the WebRTC framework. However, the group sometimes combines several CVE reports into one: There are up to nine official safety reports per repair. Apple’s error description is always very general, such as “Editing maliciously crafted web content may cause an unexpected process crash.” The countermeasures sound just as generic: improved memory management, improved input validation, improved data protection. The individual CVE entries are usually rated as high (7.5) or medium (4.5). If you evaluate these as independent, there are a total of 21 security reports.

Separate download
On macOS Tahoe, Safari was automatically updated when updating to 26.5; the same applies to iOS and iPadOS. In older mobile operating systems, the Safari update also arrives on the device as part of a system update. It is available for devices with iOS 18 in the update to 18.7.9; The same applies to the derivatives watchOS, tvOS and visionOS. Things look a little different on Macs that use older versions of macOS – here Safari 26.5 appears as a separate update in System Preferences, more precisely under General/Software Updates. The update is available in both macOS 15 (Sequoia) and macOS 14 (Sonoma).

In Sonoma and Sequoia, the Safari update is available as a standalone update.