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Release appearance

iOS 4.2.1 Public

Full article
Public release

Recorded context

About this appearance

The local 4.2.1 route corresponds to Apple’s November 22 public package, which contemporaneous Apple pages call iOS 4.2; it unified the iPad with iOS 4 features and added AirPlay, AirPrint, free Find My device access for qualifying hardware, and extensive security repairs.

Date
Nov 22, 2010
Availability
available
Revision
No

Release notes

What changed

Original editorial synthesis. Linked references appear with the claims they support and in the source ledger.

Apple’s announcement describes the November 22 package as iOS 4.2, while the local catalog and Apple’s later 4.3 advisory identify the installed predecessor as 4.2.1. The update brought multitasking, folders, unified Mail, and Game Center to iPad and introduced AirPlay and AirPrint across supported devices.[1][2][3]

The release also made Find My iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch free on qualifying devices and expanded Safari search, enterprise management, accessibility, and language coverage on iPad. Apple’s bulletin records protections for configuration profiles, fonts and images, ad-triggered calls, networking, passcode state, credentials, and WebKit.[4][5][2]

Source ledger

References

Sources are linked to the claims they support. Publication and access dates are shown when available.

  1. About the security content of iOS 4.3

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · Available for range through iOS 4.2.1

    Back to text ↑
  2. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · iOS 4.2 security content

    Back to text ↑
  3. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · November 22 availability and principal features

    Back to text ↑
  4. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · Find My device and other iPad features

    Back to text ↑
  5. Apple security updates (2010)

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · iOS 4.2 — 22 Nov 2010

    Back to text ↑
  6. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · AirPlay

  7. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · AirPrint

  8. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · Configuration Profiles — CVE-2010-3827

  9. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · CoreGraphics, FreeType, and ImageIO entries

  10. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · Find My iPhone and hardware footnote

  11. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · iAd Content Display — CVE-2010-3828

  12. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · iOS 4.2 — 22 Nov 2010

  13. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · iPad features

  14. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · Mail — DNS prefetching entry

  15. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · Networking and Passcode Lock — CVE-2010-1843, CVE-2010-3830, and CVE-2010-4012

  16. Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch

    Apple Newsroom · Apple · 2010-11-22T00:00:00Z · Other new iPad features

  17. About the security content of iOS 4.2

    Apple Support · 2026-07-30 · WebKit entries

Release changes

Changed in this release

Features, fixes, removals, and regressions first observed in this release record.

security · fixed

Confirmation before calls from iAd links

documentedconfirmed

The change prevented injected ad content from automatically invoking a call URL when an attacker controlled a privileged network position.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · iAd Content Display — CVE-2010-3828

security · fixed

Configuration-profile signature validation

documentedconfirmed

The correction reduced the risk of misleading a user into installing a malicious configuration profile presented with an invalid trust cue.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · Configuration Profiles — CVE-2010-3827

enhancement · changed

Free Find My device access on qualifying hardware

documentedconfirmed

The service could locate a missing device, show a message, play a sound, remotely lock it, or erase its data; Apple limited the free offer to specified hardware.

  1. [1] Apple’s iOS 4.2 Available Today for iPad, iPhone & iPod touch · Find My iPhone and hardware footnote

security · fixed

Network and passcode-state protections

documentedconfirmed

Apple documented a remote shutdown path in multicast packet handling, a local privilege path in packet-filter rules, and a physical-access race around an emergency call.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · Networking and Passcode Lock — CVE-2010-1843, CVE-2010-3830, and CVE-2010-4012

security · fixed

WebKit memory-safety repairs

documentedconfirmed

The bulletin groups many browser-engine defects whose most serious documented outcome was arbitrary code execution after visiting a malicious site.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · WebKit entries

security · fixed

Font and image parser updates

documentedconfirmed

Apple updated FreeType and libpng and added bounds checking for font processing, addressing issues whose most serious outcomes included code execution.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · CoreGraphics, FreeType, and ImageIO entries

security · fixed

Mail remote-content privacy

documentedconfirmed

The prior behavior could reveal that an HTML email had been viewed through an otherwise unexpected request to a remote server.

  1. [1] About the security content of iOS 4.2 · Mail — DNS prefetching entry