Top-10 security vulnerabilities of 2015

Apple's MacOS and iOS operating systems top the tables - pipping even Adobe to the top spot

Apple's MacOS operating system topped the charts for the number of security vulnerabilities disclosed during 2015, with Apple's iOS mobile operating system coming second, according to CVE Details, which keeps track of publicly disclosed security vulnerabilities.

Perhaps surprisingly, Apple's two operating systems had even more vulnerabilities than the much-maligned Adobe Flash Player, although the Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) system table does not reflect the severity of the vulnerabilities.

Even more surprising, perhaps, is that Microsoft's operating systems had less than half the number of vulnerabilities reported as MacOS, with even Ubuntu Linux having more reported vulnerabilities than all of Microsoft's operating systems, with the exception of Windows Server 2012. The Linux kernel, meanwhile, had some 77 CVE warnings issued during 2015.

Further down the table, Apple's Apple TV application and WatchOS operating system also chalked up a relatively high number of CVE warnings, with 57 and 53 respectively.

Overall, however, Microsoft topped the charts with a total of 1,561 vulnerabilities issued for Microsoft products, with Adobe not far behind with 1,504 and Apple in third with 1,147.