Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard Patches Critical Security Issues

Apple on Monday released Mac OS X 10.5.4 update, which addresses operating system and application performance issues. This is fourth security Mac OS X update of the year, which fixes 25 security vulnerabilities - 11 of them considered “critical.”

The update resolves problems with a number of security issues and also  issues with Adobe CS3, AirPort connectivity, iCal, SSL connections using Safari, and Spaces and Exposé. Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac. Here is what’s included:

General updates include recent Apple security updates; includes additional RAW image support for several cameras; addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application. Additionally, this update improves L2TP VPN client reliability and resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.

AirPort update addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks and issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.

iCal update improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone. The update also resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator; resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window; and resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specified time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences. Additionally this update addresses issues with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another; issues in which To Dos cannot be marked private; and issues in which events in all calendars affect availability (a checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups).

Safari update addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages and resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.

Spaces and Exposé update addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space. It also fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space. Furthermore, this update resolves an Exposé issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.

Mac OS X 10.5.4 Leopard is available via Software Update. Standalone installers are or will soon be available via Apple Support Downloads.

The delta update will allow you update from Mac OS X 10.5.3 to 10.5.4, while the combo update will allow you update from Mac OS X 10.5, 10.5.1, 10.5.2, or 10.5.3 to 10.5.4. Information about the security content of Security Update 2008-004 and Mac OS X 10.5.4 here.