Tech Shout!

On Thursday, Apple released a security update for Mac OS X, which deals with 25 security vulnerabilities in the operating system software, including the Mac’s AirPort driver software, Help Viewer, and Installer application.

The latest security update affects various parts of the operating system, including some third-party components such as the Kerberos authentication technology. The most serious of the vulnerabilities could enable an attacker to gain complete control over an unpatched Mac, Apple said in a security advisory.

The update tackles another trio of zero-day bugs that were revealed as part of the Month of Apple Bugs in January. Apple has made void several bugs detailed during the Month of Apple Bugs and Month of Kernel Bugs projects in previous patch releases.

While a number of the flaws fixed by Apple’s updates were previously known, it doesn’t appear that any attacks exploiting the flaws actually occurred.

Apple’s patch release comes just as hackers at the CanSecWest security conference in Vancouver, B.C., are being challenged to break into two MacBooks. A successful hack wins the hacker the MacBook and a $10,000 bounty, according to show organizers. The contest and conference ends on Friday.

The Cupertino, Calif. based company has issued a Mac OS X security update every month in 2007. In March, Apple released an update to fix 45 bugs in the operating system. Apple doesn’t have a set patch schedule. In 2006, the company released two Mac OS X updates in the first four months of the year.

The latest update called 2007-04, is available through the Software Update, feature in Mac OS X and from Apple Downloads.