Bug in iOS 7 allows calls to be placed from locked iPhone

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Another security flaw has been discovered in Apple's iOS 7, this time exploiting a bug in the emergency calling system that allows anyone to bypass an iPhone's passcode lock to make a phone call.

The bug was found by Karam Daoud and reported by Fortune, which noted the emergency call exploit has

According to the report, a nefarious user can place a phone call to by entering any number in the emergency call pane and repeatedly pressing the call button. After a number of taps, the button "sticks" and iOS appears to crash, but the call will go through. The bug allows both local and international calls to be placed. AppleInsider was able to replicate the process on an iPhone 5 running iOS 7.

The discovery comes after a separate issue was uncovered on Thursday that exploits a glitch in Command Center to bypass iOS 7's lock screen security protection. That problem is easily rectified, however, by turning off the feature's lock screen access in Settings.

As with any new operating system release, the first version is bound to have a few issues that were not unearthed during beta testing. For example, Apple's Safari app in iOS 6 contained a Smart App Banner bug that reenabled JavaScript without user consent, potentially opening devices to security breaches.

Apple has been informed of the latest exploit and will likely issue a patch with the next software update.

💬 130 Comments

512ke

said about 9 years ago

It's a good catch, and good that Apple will fix it quickly.

If you download a brand new operating system, you have to be willing to deal with little glitches. It's to be expected.

alphafox

said about 9 years ago

Apples doomed!

SpamSandwich

said about 9 years ago

Probably will be fixed within several days.

agramonte

said about 9 years ago

To bad the new dialer and awful turquoise blue icons in safari and mail are not bugs also

macinthe408

said about 9 years ago

Hi, I'm a professional analyst and tech pundit. Based on this bug, I am downgrading AAPL stock to $80 and SELL. I predict Apple will go bankrupt next week and Samsung will overtake them based solely on the fallout from this egregious bug. It means Tim Cook can't code as well as Jobs could. Jobs would've caught this bug in testing and fixed it himself. Edit: Added tag, as someone seems to have taken this seriously.