Last Wednesday Constantinea security researcher, has discovered a curious new bug affecting iPhones and iPads. By typing four very specific characters, that is, two quotation marks, open and closed, followed by a colon twice (“”::) in the section search App Librarythe device crashes, effectively causing Apple’s mobile user interface, called Springboard. According to what was stated by TechCrunchthe problem – which in jargon is called breathing – it also appears when typing “”: followed by a any fourth character and the problem would also arise in the search for theSettings app. Asked about the matter, Apple preferred not to comment. Most likely the bug will be resolved through the release of a future update.
The 4-character problem is “not a security bug”
The reason why these characters cause the Springboard to crash is not clear and it is likely that even Apple, having opted for press silence (at least for now), has not yet understood what the problem is. One thing, however, is certain: the problem of the 4 characters «it’s not a security bug“, as he stated Ryan Stortza security researcher who analyzed the bug. He is of the same opinion Patrick Wardlea former employee of the United States National Security Agency between 2006 and 2008 and an independent researcher on Apple macOS defensive security.
Unlike other bugs discovered in the past years on Apple systems, the one related to typing the 4 characters crashes the iPhone only if the user in possession of the device types them and only if they do so in specific typing fields (i.e. the search bar of the App Library and the Settings app). Furthermore, the device does not undergo a complete reboot, which does not cause data loss or permanent damage. Furthermore, the bug cannot be activated by third parties and this is why, at least for the moment, it is not classified as a security risk.
When will the problem be solved?
On the 4 character bug resolution timeline There is no news at the moment. Apple could soon release a “minor” update of iOS 17 and fix it asap or it could fix the problem with the public release of the new operating system iOS 18which should be available next month. In any case, we recommend that you keep an eye on the availability of new updates by opening the app Settings and going to the section General > Software Update. If a fix is available, you can then install it by pressing the button Update now and following the on-screen instructions to finalize everything.
