That reminds me of those pranks you could send to friends that
crashes their phones. Is that also part of ChiOS
Maria Reyes
Owner of the Apple 411 list: [email protected]
On Thu, Jan 18, 2018 at 8:50 PM -0500, "M. Taylor" <[email protected]> wrote:
iPhone 'chaiOS' bug can freeze your phone with a single link
You don't even have to click the link
By James VincentJan 18, 2018, 5:50am EST
A bug has been discovered in iOS that crashes the Messages app and can
freeze or restart your phone when you're sent a specially-engineered website
link.
The bug was discovered by software developer Abraham Masri, who gave it the
catchy - if slightly alarmist - name of "chaiOS." It exploits the fact that
Messages preloads any links to webpages so it can show users a preview of
the page. Speaking to BuzzFeed News, Masri explains that he created a
webpage hosted on GitHub and stuffed its metadata with hundreds of thousands
of unnecessary characters. Masri suggests that Messages crashes when trying
to load all of this unexpected information, sometimes taking the entire
operating system down with it.
thanks to @aaronp613 @garnerlogan65 @lepidusdev @brensalsa for testing!
Abraham Masri (@cheesecakeufo) 3:00 PM - Jan 16, 2018
Judging by user reports, the bug doesn't work consistently. Sometimes it
crashes Messages, sometimes it causes lag, sometimes it freezes the device,
and sometimes it triggers what's known as a "respring" (when iOS reboots the
software called SpringBoard and kicks the user back to the lock screen).
Masri tested chaiOS successfully on the iPhone X and iPhone 5S, and says it
only affects versions of iOS from 10.0 to 11.2.5 beta 5. The bug can also
crash Messages on macOS.
Thankfully, finding working copies of a buggy chaiOS link isn't easy. Masri
initially hosted the bug on GitHub, but this link, along with a number of
other mirrors uploaded by third-parties, has now been taken down by the
site. Masri himself says he isn't going to re-upload the bug, saying he only
released it "to get Apple's attention."
No, I'm not going to re-upload it. I made my point. Apple needs to take such
bugs more seriously.
Abraham Masri (@cheesecakeufo) 10:17 AM - Jan 17, 2018
If someone has sent you a copy of the bug and it's currently stopping you
from using Messages on your iPhone, there are a couple of fixes you can try:
. Block the domain of site hosting it. So, if the link is coming from
GitHub, for example, go to your Safari settings, then General > Restrictions
> Enable Restrictions > Websites > Limit Adult Content > Never Allow >
GitHub.io.
. Delete the thread the link was sent in. We've seen mixed reports
about whether this method works - it depends if you can quickly delete the
thing before the app crashes.
. Reset your iPhone to factory settings. This is an extreme measure as
it'll delete all your files, photos, etc. Don't do this unless you've backed
up your phone, and even then, it's probably better to just...
. Wait for a patch. We expect Apple will be sending one out soon
enough, although the company didn't respond to our request for comment, or
give any additional details on what it's doing to fix chaiOS.
This isn't a new breed of bug for the iPhone. Similar strings of text or
dodgy web links have caused shutdowns in iOS in both 2015 and 2016. And at
this point chaiOS is more of an annoyance than anything else.
Still, considering the end of last year was a particularly bad time for
Apple's software, we hope the company is more alert and responsive in 2018.
Original Article at:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/18/16904774/ios-iphone-bug-crash-chaios-link
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