September 17, 2024, 8:10 am | Read time: 3 minutes
If an iPad or iPhone crashes, there can be several causes. Even certain button sequences can cause it.
Security and functionality are extremely important for technical devices. Sometimes, however, even simple inputs can put them out of action. As has now become known, an iPad or iPhone can actually crash if you enter the wrong sequence of keys.
Overview
String in app library causes iPhone to crash
In the past, there have always been reports that certain inputs can cause a device to crash. Currently, there are also reports about how mobile Apple devices such as iPads or iPhones can easily crash. Among others, the security researcher Konstantin, with the handle @kpwn@infosec.exchange, wrote in a post on the internet platform Mastodon that this is possible with the character sequence “”::.
Entering this four-character sequence into the search bar within the app library is all it takes. This is usually accessed by scrolling to the right from the iPhone home screen. If the sequence is effective, it temporarily disables the Springboard, the system that manages the home screen. This is the standard application for managing the home screen.
Internet users find several variations
Numerous comments from other users have already been posted under the Mastodon article. Many of them show that the bug could be reproduced, but it doesn’t seem to work for some. Users who are particularly keen to experiment have also discovered variations and found that the last character can be swapped at will. It should also be possible to insert characters between the quotation marks at will.
Both the original character sequence and the options for variation also work in the TECHBOOK self-test on an iPhone 15 with iOS 17.6.1 and an iPhone 14 with iOS 17.6. The screen goes black for a brief moment before you have to unlock it again. This does not appear to be a serious crash but rather a reset. One user wrote that this does not work in the beta version of iOS 18.1. However, someone else confirmed the error for the beta version of iPadOS 18.1.
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Is the Key Sequence Dangerous?
In view of this, the question of whether entering the characters could pose a security risk seems obvious. According to “heise,” this could, at least in theory, be used for denial-of-service attacks. However, security researchers are said to have told “TechCrunch” that this poses no danger.
Apple itself has not yet officially commented on this. Given the bug’s current high profile, it’s likely that Apple will address it in the near future. One must consider whether this poses a real issue, as it’s improbable that someone would inadvertently enter this precise character sequence in their iPad or iPhone’s search bar. Furthermore, some users perceive this as a beneficial feature because if the Springboard does cause problems, it can be restarted quickly and easily.