Apple to fix iPhone security flaw in next iOS
Apple has acknowledged a newly-discovered security flaw in the iPhone and is promising to offer a fix with next month's release of iOS 4.2.
The new flaw allows someone to access the phone dialer on a locked iPhone by punching a certain sequence of buttons, thereby giving them the ability to make phone calls, send e-mails, and access the address book. Confirmed by Wired Magazine, the Boy Genius Report, and other online sources, the flaw was reportedly first discovered and posted by a user on the MacRumors online forum on October 22.
Bypassing the lock requires someone to tap the Emergency Call button, enter a non-emergency number such as ###, tap the call button, and then hit the lock button. Though the forum user said he was using a jailbroken iPhone, other users with non-jailbroken phones quickly chimed in to report the same bug. On its end, Apple is eyeing a fix for the flaw. In response to a query from CNET, an Apple spokeswoman e-mailed the following statement: "We're aware of this issue and we will deliver a fix to customers as part of the iOS 4.2 software update in November."
