It’s true that every now and then a bug is found in iOS text strings that can crash your iPhone with just a few characters. Now this bug does it with just four characters. A Mastodon researcher discovers a new iOS flaw.
If you type these characters into Spotlight Search or App Library, your iPhone will crash: “”:: or just “”: along with a fourth character
On the other hand, TechCrunch claims that these characters crash Springboard when typed into the Settings app’s search bar, as well as if you swipe right on the home screen and type them into the App Library’s search bar.
When the bug is enabled, Springboard briefly crashes and reloads on the lock screen. In other tests, the bug caused the screen to go black for a second.
The researchers further explained that this is not a security issue and that “there is no evidence yet to suggest that anyone other than the owner of an iOS device manually typing characters could trigger this flaw.”
With the latest version of iOS 17, typing these characters causes Springboard, the iPhone’s home screen interface, to crash and soft-bounce. Now, in iOS 18 and iOS 18.1, it causes Spotlight Search to crash briefly, but Springboard doesn’t crash entirely.
The issue only affects Spotlight search from the iPhone Home screen or from the App Library search bar.
This isn’t the first time a text string bug like this has plagued the iPhone. In 2015, the “Effective Power” bug caused the Messages app to crash and the iPhone to reboot when a particular text was received. This was a more serious problem because someone else could send you the message and repeatedly crash your iPhone.
Also, in 2020, a bug emerged that could crash any user’s Twitter app simply by viewing a tweet with a certain set of characters.
As always, Apple is probably already working on this character flaw and it will be fixed in the next iOS update. If you want to try it, it’s at your own risk.
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