A few days ago, a WhatsApp message having a black dot and a text or emoji for prompting you to touch the dot, seemed to crash the WhatsApp application on both Android and iOS. The message, in fact, contained a hidden Telugu script comprised of Unicode characters that made the CPU go out of control, ultimately hanging the app and even the device, sometimes. Now, the same bug has hit the iOS Messages app and is now causing similar issues on iPhone devices.
The malicious message goes a step further in iOS Messages, as once it has caused freezing the app doesn’t get to normal even if the device is completely restarted. The black dot bug is malfunctioning iPhone X along with iPhone 8 and 7 series as well and might also work in the previous models. As per the reports, the older the phone, the more it is being affected by the bug. Currently, iOS 11.3 and the beta versions of 11.4 are among the victims too.
Furthermore, it’s not only the iPhones but the script has reportedly infected the macOS, as opening the message causes the system’s memory consumption to shoot.
The bug is causing quite a trouble on these iPhones but fortunately, it has a simple fix. All you have to do is somehow make the Messages app work so that you can wipe off the harmful emoji message right away without opening it ever again.
You can do this by using 3D touch on Messages app icon on the homescreen, and then tapping on ‘New Message’. Once the window for a new message appears, simply cancel it and there, you would have the inbox from which you can delete the problematic message. You can also do this via another iCloud –connected device.
Here’s a video from EverythingApplePro for a clear demonstration:
Let’s hope that Apple soon fixes this issue and adds more security to the iOS for such malicious bugs in future.
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Source: TechRadar
