Apple fixes ‘killer text bomb’ vulnerability with new update for iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS

Apple released updates on Monday that will protect owners of iPhones, iPads, iMacs, MacBooks, iMac Pros, Apple Watches, and (phew!) Apple TVs from having toerags crash their devices.

The bizarre bug was in how Apple products handled a Unicode symbol representing a letter from the south Indian language of Telugu.

When, for instance, vulnerable versions of iOS displayed the character they would get their knickers in a twist, causing the app to crash.

Fortunately updating Apple operating systems is a pretty painless process.

For instance, on an iMac you just need to open App Store, and select Updates to see what updates are waiting to be installed.

On an iPhone or iPad, simply go to Settings > General > Software Update.

Go and grab iOS 11.2.6, watchOS 4.2.3, tvOS 11.2.6, and the macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Supplemental Update now.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Bluesky, or drop him an email.