Security Flaw in iOS 9.3.1 Allows Access to iPhone Photos and Contacts

[The.Outsider]

Quite simply, the battery is defective, and Apple will replace it free of charge if your iPhone 6 is under warranty.
It's not always doom and gloom.

Phew, thanks I am happy it's covered.

One other annoying thing I noticed though which I hope you know something about, is that on the top left corner of my screen, it's dimmer, like a faded area and it's getting bigger and bigger, it's not major yet but it's starting to be annoying as when I film or take pictures I can always see that upper left corner being dimmed. Do you know of any issues like that with the iPhone 6? I'm hyper sensitive when it comes to handling my phone so it's not seen brutal usage. It's the 128GB iPhone 6.

 

[djcerla]

Phew, thanks I am happy it's covered.

One other annoying thing I noticed though which I hope you know something about, is that on the top left corner of my screen, it's dimmer, like a faded area and it's getting bigger and bigger, it's not major yet but it's starting to be annoying as when I film or take pictures I can always see that upper left corner being dimmed. Do you know of any issues like that with the iPhone 6? I'm hyper sensitive when it comes to handling my phone so it's not seen brutal usage. It's the 128GB iPhone 6.

Same. It's defective, not your fault.

 

[bingeciren]

Apple software quality is going down. When I mean quality, I don't mean just the stability or the error free nature of the software but the user interface, usability, features and the overall quality as well.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

this vulnerability applies to a ridicolously subset of iOS users. So let's stop development altogether to hunt for bugs?

As opposite, I'd argue iOS is much more secure and less buggy NOW than before, remember "slide to jailbreak"?

Additionally a subset that would have had to ENABLE a specific feature. So, a subset OF a subset.
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I keep reading comments in which people discount this bug or claim to have protected themselves from it. I thought I was protected from it too until I just tried it exactly the way it was described. I have a 6s Plus. You have to ask to search twitter in one Siri command. Search for @yahoo in the next command, click on the same handle in the photo, force click and then add to existing contact. It works every time. I don't have twitter installed so there is nothing for me to disable in the twitter privacy settings. I don't even have a twitter account and I can still access all my contacts and photos without unlocking my phone. I really can't find a way to block the bug at all without completely disabling siri maybe. More people need to try this before assuming they're safe.

How were you invoking Siri? Pressing home button or Hey Siri? How long do you have your phone set to require a login after lock?

 

[Thunderhawks]

This is complete BS: I am like you: NO Facebook, no Twitter, no what´s up or whatsoever.
I just use my iPhone as a phone, with a contact list, take some photos and have alitttle bit of music on it. some simple apps like Sonos and deezer, that´s it.

AND I DISABLED nearly EVERYTHING, especially Siri and no also voice control. BUT I can prove that even with disabled voice control you can at least call someone and - if you have enough time test any name with voice control to control if this name exists in the contact list and you can call them "in the name of the owner"…

I´d call that a BIG SECURITY and PRIVACY ISSUE!!!

I could prove that anybody can access your iPhone - this is NOT PARANOIA, this is REALITY, my friend.

Just press the home button - and you are free to use anyone´s phone…

This is a shame AGAIN for apple.

Not really, I always have my phone with me. If it gets stolen I'll wipe it via Find my Phone.
Actually, I don't even have a lock code enabled or fingerprint recognition.
Nothing on my phone that matters or is of value to anybody.

There are many posters here who do not have that issue or can't duplicate it.
Maybe a default reset will do it?

Whatever it is Apple will fix it.

If you can't wait for that, I guess it's time for an Android phone for you.

 

[crashoverride77]

Not really, I always have my phone with me. If it gets stolen I'll wipe it via Find my Phone.
Actually, I don't even have a lock code enabled or fingerprint recognition.
Nothing on my phone that matters or is of value to anybody.

There are many posters here who do not have that issue or can't duplicate it.
Maybe a default reset will do it?

Whatever it is Apple will fix it.

If you can't wait for that, I guess it's time for an Android phone for you.

Even better, he should get a Nokia 3210. They are very very secure I heard.

 

[MH01]

Well that too, still even having all the time in the world doesn't automatically mean no bugs.

There will always be bugs. Business decisions are made to go live when when a certain standard is met, usually no critical known bugs.

Given it takes a few years to really achieve a really stable OS , the one year cycle Apple has adopted means they do not even get to correct the outstanding bugs before they are working On new features. Classic example of not fixing your tech debt and maintenance.

 

[bbbbbbb]

Siri is still garbage...never have used it and probably never will. Too many flaws for simple actions and questions, this just solidifies my opinion on it.

 

[crashoverride77]

There will always be bugs. Business decisions are made to go live when when a certain standard is met, usually no critical known bugs.

Given it takes a few years to really achieve a really stable OS , the one year cycle Apple has adopted means they do not even get to correct the outstanding bugs before they are working On new features. Classic example of not fixing your tech debt and maintenance.

True, that's why I don't understand people that love iOS 6. That's the 6th generation of the same OS so it better be great. We are only 2.5 years into the complete OS redesign.

Still you are right, there has been a few to many obvious bugs that should have not been missed. I said this before but I think Apple is simply doing to much at the moment (tvOS, watchOS, Apple Music, Apple news etc)

There was an article a while back that Apple engineers basically begged Tim cook to reduce features and focus on bugs and stability with iOS 9.

The end result as we all know was something in between. iOS 9.0 was much better than iOS 7.0 or 8.0 but not nearly as good as iOS 9.3 is now, which is what iOS 9.0 should have been.

 

[logics8]

Like apple would say, "Unable to recreate problem." I have the 6S+ with twitter and siri fully enabled. I can't get it to unlock without entering my password.

 

[CaTOAGU]

I'm fairly sure this person unlocked his iPhone first with touch ID. Every time I try and reproduce this bug Siri prompts me to unlock my iPhone in order to search twitter.

 

[chrfr]

Apparently Apple fixed this on the server side. http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/apple-bug-photos-contacts-fixed/

 

[HowEver]

Listen. Everybody gets Bruce. Everybody.

I just tested Siri in German on my iPad, and it understood Whatsapp and Bruce Springsteen perfectly.

 

[djcerla]

Apparently Apple fixed this on the server side. http://fortune.com/2016/04/05/apple-bug-photos-contacts-fixed/

So much for the "epic fail"

 

[MH01]

True, that's why I don't understand people that love iOS 6. That's the 6th generation of the same OS so it better be great. We are only 2.5 years into the complete OS redesign.

Still you are right, there has been a few to many obvious bugs that should have not been missed. I said this before but I think Apple is simply doing to much at the moment (tvOS, watchOS, Apple Music, Apple news etc)

There was an article a while back that Apple engineers basically begged Tim cook to reduce features and focus on bugs and stability with iOS 9.

The end result as we all know was something in between. iOS 9.0 was much better than iOS 7.0 or 8.0 but not nearly as good as iOS 9.3 is now, which is what iOS 9.0 should have been.

Yup spot On.

The engineers know the problem very well, it's the same problem that engineers suffer in other organisations , feature development is being prioritised over maintaince of software. These days the attitude is to get it out the door asap for sales and fix it afterwards, and the ability the firmware or OS means we generally get crap, test it , and eventually get a working version. I've seen games get released that are unplayable on launch day....back in the day when you could not update them, the QA was excellent!

 

[Michael Goff]

Apple software quality is going down. When I mean quality, I don't mean just the stability or the error free nature of the software but the user interface, usability, features and the overall quality as well.

And yet I find iOS 9 to be far more usable than ever before.

 

[StyxMaker]

What I mean?I NEVER EVER Used Siri and I DISABLED IT.

And nevertheless - after my iPhone locked itself after a minute, I just pressed the home-button for some seconds from that "securized" and "locked" screen, the GUI of Siri appeared and - for the very first time - I just said "hey Siri!" - and Siri just told me "I connect yyou with xyz" and I found myself on the GUI of the phone-call and was connected!!!

Again:
1) I DISABLED SIRI !
2) I NEVER used Siri!
3) I could nevertheless start Siri just by simply pressing the home button and it started immediately after I just said "Hey Siri!" to connect me with someone from my contacts !!!

Is this difficult to understand??

There is a BIG SECURITY BUG indeed !!!
you press the home button shortly: You have to tap your passcode.
you press the home button for some seconds: the iPhone under IOS 9.3.1 starts SIRI although disabled, and Siri connects you immediately with someone after you just said "hey Siri!" and you find yourself on the same GUI as you do if you call intentionally someone !!!

Duplicating the conditions you describe, Apple's old Voice Control app launched not Siri which was disabled.

Edit: Others handled this already.

 

[MrAverigeUser]

So much for the "epic fail"

they fixed perhaps one bug, but not my problem and that of the other user here confirming getting access by voice control without any passcode.
apple may not even know about this other bug. the article is about a Siri bug , not the voice control bug.

but it is clear that you think some lines in the press about apple claiming (again) they fixed everything is a fix itself…. apologists think like that.

The article just remarks that apple claimed something. Full stop.

apple denied and claimed soooo much during the last years that everybody should better wait until the claims have been confirmed…by USERS of the iPhone.

 

[StyxMaker]

Yay! I see an update for the update of the update coming .

Technically, everything we've received after 2007 has been an update to the original iPhone OS.

 

[aristobrat]

Duplicating the conditions you describe, Apple's old Voice Control app launched not Siri which was disabled.

This is reminds me of the thread in which he railed against the usefulness of Apple Pay.

When his specific points against it were shown to be inaccurate, it became obvious that he didn't understand (in any detail) how it actually worked, which made it confusing as to how he could have such strong opinions against it in the first place. He then disappeared from the thread. "poof, gone".

Whatever the opposite of "Apple apologist" is, I think most of his posts belonged firmly in that group. Is "Apple antagonizers" a thing? Just in case I need a term to throw around if one of my points turns out to be not correct, and I'd rather not say "Oh, yeah, I never [looked at it/thought about it] from that point-of-view." or "I misunderstood how the feature actually worked, sorry about that."

 

[MrAverigeUser]

Duplicating the conditions you describe, Apple's old Voice Control app launched not Siri which was disabled.

Yes - but it is just voice control instead of siri which gives access to my iPhone - even after disabling also voice control.
The facts itselfs and the bug are still the same - anyone can have access to my contacts and call someone from a blocked iPhone under at least IOS 9.2.1 or IOS 9.3.1 (13E238) verified and still reproducible on two different iPhone5 from 2012. Without any passcode, just after pressing the home button for some seconds, followed by appearance of voice control.

THIS has not been fixed at all.

 

[dewski]

After reading all the comments about these privacy issues, I'm beginning to think that I'm the only person who has never used a passcode on my phone. I never did it with the first iphone, and i cant start now.

 

[MrAverigeUser]

This is reminds me of the thread in which he railed against the usefulness of Apple Pay.

When his specific points against it were shown to be inaccurate, it became obvious that he didn't understand (in any detail) how it actually worked, which made it confusing as to how he could have such strong opinions against it in the first place. He then disappeared from the thread. "poof, gone".

Whatever the opposite of "Apple apologist" is, I think most of his posts belonged firmly in that group. Is "Apple antagonizers" a thing? Just in case I need a term to throw around if one of my points turns out to be not correct, and I'd rather not say "Oh, yeah, I never [looked at it/thought about it] from that point-of-view." or "I misunderstood how the feature actually worked, sorry about that."

I invite everybody to look at the mentioned thread - and to verify himself who is lying…. but this is off topic. Maybe he is the only one in the universe who doesn´t use credit cards.

It is always the apologizers who disappear, not the ones giving substantial critical arguments.

 

[emm386]

Why are people complaining? 9.3 is the most stable iOS - release ever. Period. (Quote: Apteligent. And statistics can't be wrong, it's factual hard figures based entirely on reality evaluated my smart people)

... Just like Vista used to be the most popular Operating System of its time. (Quote: Steve Ballmer @ MIX) .

Oh well... Today's Apple appears to be yesterday's Microsoft. Judging by their current software quality... But who am I to judge - I better leave that to statisticians. They might prove me wrong eventually.

TL;DR: Don't worry: Our "fearless leader Mr. Cook" (quote: Chipworks, another important company that knows what they are talking about) has the situation under control and will fix the issue shortly (proof: statistics).

 

[StyxMaker]

Wasn't there a post like 2 days ago that said 9.3 was the most stable ios update. Lol.

And people are wondering how FBI broke their encryption. Apple is not as secure as they present themselves. Nothing is nowadays.

This is a totally different issue than stability.