Amber Neely
A researcher claimed to find a remote code execution exploit that could allow an attacker to wipe an iPhone or iPad running all iOS versions up to iOS 15 — but Apple says the claim is bogus.
Twitter user @RobertCFO posted on Wednesday that he had reportedly found a bug that would enable a user to use a high-level proximity Bluetooth LE exploit to remotely wipe iPhones and iPads without any access to the devices. The user also states that he will provide proof of concept at a later date.
POC? RCE up to 15.0.X ~ High level proximity based Bluetooth LE exploit to remote wipe iDevices based on proximity alone! No physical device access.
— Robert (@RobertCFO) October 13, 2021
In short can put a laptop in a backpack and ride a bike in a city wiping iPhones :)
POC date tbd#iOS #iOS15 #iosrce pic.twitter.com/CD7cj9Bna7
Included in the Tweet is a screenshot of an email exchange he says he had with a member of Apple's Product Security Team. The team member acknowledges the issue and states that it will be resolved in iOS 15.1, which the Apple representative said will roll out the week of Monday, October 25 — the week after Apple's "Unleashed" event.
Apple also allegedly asked Robert to keep the email and the details of the exploit confidential until the patches were released to users.
Apple today seeded the fourth developer betas for iOS 15.1 and iPadOS 15.1.
The upcoming release of iOS 15.1 will introduce features that didn't arrive in time for the initial iOS 15 release, such as SharePlay. One major new feature also surfaced, with users able to add verifiable COVID vaccination cards to Wallet.
Update: Apple has reached out to clarify that they have no record of any interaction between the alleged researcher and an Apple Security Bounty team member, leading Apple to believe that this interaction has been spoofed. The company also notes that Apple does not include specific dates for upcoming software releases.
Andrew Orr
William Gallagher
Christine McKee
AppleInsider Staff
Chip Loder
3 Comments
He sure didn’t keep it confidential as requested - guess that throws his bounty payment out the window?
Is anyone else having issues with homepages and widgets randomly disappearing, then randomly reappearing hours later?
13 Pro Max, 15.1 PB 3
This is probably why Apple was trying to limit access to certain things to only vetted security researchers. There’s a huge amount of script kiddies out there that submit everything under the sun as a “security hole”, sometimes with screenshots and random bits of code that make it look legit to the untrained eye. Then they make obnoxious posts on social media that make it seem like they discovered some kind of revolutionary exploit that Apple is ignoring. In this case they even faked the whole interaction with Apple and there is no exploit at all!