Apple has rolled out the first Rapid Security Response (RSR) patches for iOS 16.4.1 and macOS 13.3.1 devices, with some users having trouble installing them on their iPhones.

As the company describes in a recently published article supporting documentRSR patches are small updates that target iPhone, iPad, and Mac platforms and fix security issues between major software updates.

Some of these out-of-band security updates can also be used to patch actively exploited vulnerabilities in attacks.

“They offer significant security enhancements between software updates — for example, enhancements to the Safari web browser, WebKit framework stack, or other critical system libraries,” Apple explains.

“They can also be used to more quickly mitigate certain security issues, such as issues that could have been exploited or flagged as existing ‘in the wild’.”

You can take the following steps to check if RSR fixes are available for your device:

• iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates, then make sure “Security Answers and System Files” is turned on.
• Mac: Choose Apple menu  > System Settings. Click General in the sidebar, then click Software Update on the right. Click the Show details button ​ next to Automatic updates, then make sure “Install security responses and system files” is enabled.

If you turn off automatic updates or decline to install Rapid Security Responses when offered, your device will receive security patches as part of a future software upgrade.

First RSR patch not installing on some iPhones

According to user reports [1, 2, 3, 4]the RSR update shipping today for iPhones also fails to install on some devices with “Failed to verify security response” errors.

“iOS Security Response 16.4.1 (a) failed verification because you are no longer connected to the internet,” the errors say.

Despite this, as confirmed by BleepingComputer, the affected devices are connected to the internet and a server-side bug is likely causing the issues.

While today’s security quick answers are for all iOS and macOS users, Apple has yet to share what security improvements they bring.

THE Apple Security Updates Pagewhich usually lists the latest security updates, has no details on today’s RSR patches, and Apple has yet to share where they will share this information.

The only information shared on the update screen is that “This Security Quick Response provides important security fixes and is recommended for all users. For more information, please visit: https://support.apple. com/HT201224.”

However, the page linked in the release notes is the support page released this week to explain what security rapid responses are, which does not provide any additional details about the security vulnerabilities that have been fixed today.

An Apple spokesperson was not immediately available for comment when contacted by BleepingComputer for more details on what was fixed in today’s RSR updates and what caused the issues. installation.