Apple has released a minor update to OS X Lion that patches a security concern that was brought to the general public's attention earlier this week. OS X 10.7.4 also includes an updated version of Safari that is said to be more stable and includes a feature that checks to see if users have the latest version of Adobe Flash installed.

The security issue in question stored user's passwords in a plain text log file that was accessible simply with administrator rights. It seems that the glitch happened specifically to users that had Snow Leopard installed and used the FileVault encryption option then later upgraded to OS X Lion but didn't additionally upgrade to FileVault 2.

As we noted in our previous coverage of the security flaw, the issue was originally brought up just after Lion was released back in February. A forum member by the name of "tarwinator" discovered the bug but nobody replied to his post in the Apple support forum until just recently. As such, it only took Apple a handful of days to release a fix once they were made aware of the issue.

OS X Lion users are encouraged to download the latest update through the Software Update section. For your convenience, a full list of changes can be found below.

  • Resolve an issue in which the "Reopen windows when logging back in" setting is always enabled.
  • Improve compatibility with certain British third-party USB keyboards.
  • Addresses permission issues that may be caused if you use the Get Info inspector function "Apply to enclosed items..." on your home directory.
  • Improve Internet sharing of PPPoE connections.
  • Improve using a proxy auto-configuration (PAC) file.
  • Address an issue that may prevent files from being saved to an SMB server.
  • Improve printing to an SMB print queue.
  • Improve performance when connecting to a WebDAV server.
  • Enable automatic login for NIS accounts.
  • Include RAW image compatibility for additional digital cameras.
  • Improve the reliability of binding and logging into Active Directory accounts.
  • The OS X Lion v10.7.4 Update includes Safari 5.1.6, which contains stability improvements.