A rather strange bug in Apple’s iOS has been detected by iPhone users, which is momentarily crashing iPhones. The bug, identified by a security researcher on Mastodon, can crash an iPhone simply by typing a specific sequence of four characters.
What are those four characters?
The sequence, which consists of two double quotation marks followed by two colons (“”::), has been found to cause the iPhone’s interface, known as Springboard, to crash and reboot.
Moneycontrol typed the four characters in the search section of Settings app and the iPhone did crash. We tested it on three different iPhone models and typing the four characters did crash them all.
Why you shouldn’t be worried?
For starters, chances are you aren’t going to use these four characters at all. Also, the crash is happening when these characters are typed into the Spotlight Search or App Library search bar. The iPhone’s interface freezes momentarily before crashing and returning to the lock screen.
Also, as of now this seem like a bug which does not appear to pose any security risks, as it requires the user to manually type the characters into their device.
Unlike other bugs or flaws that could be triggered remotely, this latest issue requires direct user input, making it less likely to be exploited maliciously.
Apple has yet to comment on the bug, but the company is known for its swift response to such issues. A fix might be rolled out with an upcoming iOS update.
What you can do?
Don’t type these characters as the problematic sequence can prevent any disruptions to your iPhone crashing and returning to your lock screen. Also, stay updated with the latest OS version.
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