Typing certain characters into the search bar on your iPhone will cause it to crash, according to a security researcher who goes by Konstantin on social media website Mastodon.
He was apparently tipped off about the bug by someone on X. The bug is activated whenever a search term contains two double quotation marks, with or without characters in the middle, followed by a colon.
It seems the payload has to follow this regex:^".*":.
Konstantin, Mastodon, August 2024
This means whether you search for something like "":: or "A":B, your iPhone will behave unexpectedly. To trigger the bug, the characters will have to be typed into the App Library search bar, Settings app search bar, or the Spotlight Search screen.
The characters will cause an iPhone's user interface, Springboard, to crash momentarily.
While the behaviour is surely strange, it's fortunately not a security bug, according to iOS security researcher Ryan Stortz, reports TechCrunch.
This means that, unlike the infamous 2015 and 2018 bugs that gave anyone with ill intent the ability to remotely disable access to iOS's Messages apps and third-party apps such as Gmail, WhatsApp, and Facebook Messenger, this bug poses no threat. So unless you are into self-sabotaging behaviour and like to see your device behave erratically, there is nothing to worry about.
The bug reportedly also works on iPads. Various iPhone operating system versions are vulnerable to it, with 9to5Mac reporting that it can be triggered on both the latest version of iOS 17 as well as iOS 18 and iOS 18.1, though it behaves differently on each of them.
If you are on iOS 17, the characters will cause Springboard to crash and soft reboot, whereas on iOS 18 and iOS 18.1, it will only lead to a momentarily Spotlight Search freeze.
Apple hasn't commented on the issue but will likely release a fix for the character bug soon.
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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.
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