Three security flaws in software that controls wireless networking hardware in computers made by Apple Computer Inc. could let an attacker crash or take control of the devices using Wi-Fi, the company said on Thursday.

Apple released fixes for the vulnerabilities in software for its AirPort wireless networking, which collectively affect both Intel and PowerPC-chip based machines running versions of Mac OS X for personal computers and servers.

"Attackers on the wireless network may cause system crashes, privilege elevation, or arbitrary code execution," said the security alert from the company, which is based in Cupertino, Calif.

Privilege elevation means attackers could grant themselves increased access privileges to a computer.

Arbitrary code execution means an attacker could run software the owner has not authorized and even seize control of the computer.

The software updates to fix the problems are available online at Apple's customer support website.