iOS Messaging Bug Can Freeze Your iPhone

A software developer has uncovered a new bug in iOS that can freeze and crash an iPhone whenever it receives a specially crafted spider web link.

SecurityWatch The bug involves the Messages app, which conveniently loads a preview of whatsoever spider web link information technology receives. However, programmer Abraham Masri found that he could exploit this previewing function to essentially overload the app.

He did then by creating a special webpage that loads with "hundreds of thousands of characters" inside its internal code, Masri told BuzzFeed. The sheer amount of characters will not only overwhelm the Messages app when it tries to preload them, but force the whole phone to stall.

Masri tweeted about the bug on Tuesday. But to prove his betoken, he as well posted a link to his special webpage, letting anyone test it out.

In other news, I found a (small) bug that causes device to freeze, respring, drains bombardment, and/or sometimes panic.
No need to install anything. Just open, tap then paste. (iOS only).https://t.co/4PxjA6oqiy
thanks to @aaronp613 @garnerlogan65 @lepidusdev @brensalsa for testing
— Abraham Masri (@cheesecakeufo) Jan 16, 2022

"Text the link beneath, information technology will freeze the recipient'southward device, and possibly restart it," he tweeted on Wednesday. "Do not utilize it for bad stuff."

The demo didn't sit well with everyone. GitHub, which hosted the special webpage, took information technology downwardly.

Even so, iPhone owners who tested the bug accept posted videos to YouTube showing that it does work. The victim doesn't even have to open the Messages app for the hack to take effect.

The good news is that restarting the device will usually clear the problem, only the Letters app may reject to open. (Visiting this link from a French developer over the iPhone, and and so deleting the tainted message, tin can supposedly solve the problem. A video demonstrating the ready can be establish here.) Unfortunately, iPhones hit with attack may lose their saved text messages, and so information technology'due south probably not a good idea to test out the bug for entertainment'due south sake.

The flaw affects iOS versions 10.0 to 11.two.5 beta 5. On Thursday, Apple tree said a fix is coming in a software update next calendar week. In the concurrently, Masri is declining to re-upload his especially crafted webpage, however copies of it still be.

It isn't first the bug to hitting Apple tree's Messages app. In 2022, information technology was found that a specific cord of symbols and Arabic characters sent to an iPhone tin can too crash the device.