Web code locks up iPhones and iPod Touch
A new exploit will either lock up your iPhone or iPod Touch or crash your Safari browser on your PC or Mac OS desktop if you simply visit a maliciously coded Web site. Unlike an earlier exploit that required users to click to become infected, the new code published by iPhoneWorld requires no user interaction.
So far, Apple has had no comment.
The code was first reported in January and exhausts the memory in Safari, which in turn will cause your iPhone or iPod Touch to freeze, or your desktop Safari to crash. "Given the nature of this issue," said the BugTraq newsgroup vulnerability report, "remote code execution may also be possible, but this has not been confirmed."
There is no patch available from Apple. The recommended workaround is to disable Javascript within Safari. To do so:
-
1. Under Edit, click Preferences.
2. Click the Security icon.
3. Uncheck Enable JavaScript.
4. Close and restart Safari.
As CNET's resident security expert, Robert Vamosi has been interviewed on the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, and other outlets to share his knowledge about the latest online threats and to offer advice on personal and corporate security. Listen to his podcast at securitybites.cnet.com or e-mail Robert with your questions and comments.
trouble with Safari or my iPhone... both are used daily and often.
But then again, I don't visit the kind of sites that might bring on
this sort of attack either. Maybe this report is a little overstated?
the sites I visit are not prone to those types of attacks, but that
does not prevent a link to site that has been hacked.
Due caution is advised, but not critical. To restart your iPhone,
simply hold down the home button, and the sleep button (at top) at
the same time.
exploit work with the new release?
Does it work on the older 2.x Safari as well? What about 1.x?
javascript code is designed to eat up memory.
However, Safari on the iPhone and iPod Touch hasn't been
upgraded as yet.
It will be fun seeing how Apple and it`s fanboys try and spin all the attacks that are just starting , and there will be many more to come.
wandering the earth. I still wonder why people like yourself look to
the negative side of life, instead of celebrating the good in people
and companies. What a tragedy.
- Fantastic, but no mention for ipod touch or iphone
-
by thesplintercell
March 22, 2008 7:09 PM PDT
- ?? i think your column is missing something...
-
Reply to this comment
-
(16 Comments)mentioned ipod touch and iphone, but your only focus was with the computer-versions of safari...