New Version of 'January 1, 1970 Bug' Can Brick Pre-iOS 9.3.1 Devices Over Compromised Wi-Fi Networks

[MacGod]

One thing we noticed was when we set the date on the iPad to 1970, the iPad display clock started counting backwards. While we were plugging in the second test iPad 15 minutes later, the first iPad said it was Dec. 15, 1968. I looked at Patrick and was like, ‘Did you mess with that thing?’ He hadn’t. It finally stopped at 1965, and by that time [the iPad] was about the temperature I like my steak served at.”

Sounds like an EASTER EGG was found!

 

[Black Magic]

There lies the rub. I would prefer these not go public either for the exact reason you mention, but this can be said of any information that gives shady parties ideas.

My guess is that it all comes down to ego. We need to let the world know how great we are at finding vulnerabilities. Pay us so we can help keep you secure. Vicious and dangerous cycle.

 

[farleysmaster]

My guess is that it all comes down to ego. We need to let the world know how great we are at finding vulnerabilities. Pay us so we can help keep you secure. Vicious and dangerous cycle.

What's more likely as a result of sharing this information? Thousands of people trying the hack, or thousands of people deciding yes it is worth updating their phones?

 

[Xenomorph]

I've been running "attwifi" for over a year at home. All our iPhones auto-connect to it on first use. I make sure to tell them to NOT auto-join.

I use attwifi because of the Nintendo 3DS HomePass thing.

 

[farleysmaster]

I've been running "attwifi" for over a year at home. All our iPhones auto-connect to it on first use. I make sure to tell them to NOT auto-join.

I use attwifi because of the Nintendo 3DS HomePass thing.

But it's not unsecured is it?

 

[farleysmaster]

Another notable reason why it's so important for timely updates to be delivered to devices and not be held to the whims of the cell carriers (or manufacturers who support their products for short periods of time).

And why, while you may think it's prudent to wait 48 hours to upgrade, it rarely makes sense to wait 4 weeks.

 

[DaveN]

Easy fix... Update your iOS device to the latest version of iOS.

 

[blacktape242]

good thing I was born in 1978 I'm safe!!!!

 

[Gawjuz]

1970. The problem that just won't go away!

 

[checker2010]

I have older Macs with dead PRAM batteries, every time they are unplugged they are set back to the Unix epoch in OS X (December 31, 1969). It's annoying, but they can be used just fine that way. This is definitely an iOS issue that doesn't exist on OS X.

Thats becuase your older Mac aren't 64bit devices like the iOS devices which have this UNIX issue.

 

[C DM]

1970. The problem that just won't go away!

Seems like it already has.

 

[JoEw]

Apple's "focus on security" is a joke.

Clearly you don't know anything about the nature of software.
There will always be bugs and exploits.
Stay updated, we learn new things everyday.

 

[JosephAW]

Apple. Please release updates to iOS 4,5,6,7,8&9 please. Not all of us can upgrade to iOS 9.

 

[goobot]

Apple. Please release updates to iOS 4,5,6,7,8&9 please. Not all of us can upgrade to iOS 9.

The bug only affects 64 bit devices which all run iOS 9.

 

[JosephAW]

Nope. If you've upgraded you're safe. That's what the article says.

Some of us can't update to iOS 9. I'm stuck on iOS 8 because I would have to buy a new Mac to run iTunes 12

 

[goobot]

Some of us can't update to iOS 9. I'm stuck on iOS 8 because I would have to buy a new Mac to run iTunes 12

OTA update.

 

[lederermc]

I really wish there was a setting in IOS to ignored all and never join an insecure WiFi network.

 

[redheeler]

Thats becuase your older Mac aren't 64bit devices like the iOS devices which have this UNIX issue.

I haven't seen reports of this working on newer 64-bit Macs, or Macs failing to boot after a PRAM/NVRAM reset.

 

[Thunderhawks]

The earliest you can set it now is 2000, but what's even the point of that?

Y2K bug implementation coming soon.

 

[\-V-/]

I think these are the most consecutive bugs I've seen in iOS in quite some time.

 

[Swift]

Maybe we need SSL certificates for NTP servers?

Yes, the real cause is unencrypted public wifi. I made a stupid goof when I was bringing my brand-new iPhone 3G into work. I made an adhoc wifi network, and, not thinking, I gave it the same name as my home network. Dumb. It couldn't sign in, because name and password isn't enough. The keys are different because of UUID. Took a while to me to understand why my iPhone was suddenly dying by about 4:00 PM.

 

[cerote]

They probably should have waited another few weeks before publishing this. Corporate users with mobile device management are often told to wait (or even prevented from) upgrading until the update gets approved. They do this to make sure the updates don't interfere with their servers or proprietary apps. At my employer, we just got the approval for 9.3.1 about 2 weeks ago.

Yep. Ours was last week for the update push to our devices.

 

[macduke]

I never let my iOS devices be configured to connect to unknown networks. Too many websites still don't use SSL and random untrusted networks are prime territory for MITM attacks. One of our WP sites at work doesn't (was setup before I came here and will be changing soon as we migrate everything to a new centralized server) so I tell our writers to only login from our office and they all have restricted privileges. I've also put other safeguards in place temporarily but it's still a problem across the industry for smaller websites that don't take payment information and are hosted on cheap crappy shared servers that don't support SSL.

 

[ricmoo]

Wait, so you mean that Apple didn't fix the actual cause of the bug (which was apparently how the OS handles January 1st, 1970 in binary), and instead just prevented the user from setting the date as such?

Great...

January 1st, 1970 in "binary" (actually UNIX epoch) is 0; which is why it is often a special case... Not an excuse, just a little background info.

 

[bollman]

Just wait another 22 years and we'll all be sitting here arguing about the horrid Y2K38-"bug" that is inherit in more or less all Un*x flavors up till today...

 

[KdParker]

How about don't have any trusted public wifi connections.

Best to always ask to connect.