Vulnerability Alert: Few lines of code can crash and restart any iPhone

According to a research done by Sabri Haddouche who tweeted a proof-of-concept webpage, few lines of code can crash and also restart any iPhone. 15 lines of code is all it takes to exploit a weakness in iOS’ web rendering engine WebKit.

In a report submitted to Techcrunch, <div> tags used inside a backdrop filter property in simple CSS code can use up all of the device’s resources and cause a kernel panic, eventually resulting in crashing of the phone and in some extreme cases − even restarting.

“Anything that renders HTML on iOS is affected,” he said. That means anyone sending you a link on Facebook or Twitter, or if any webpage you visit includes the code, or anyone sending you an email, he warned.

Don’t believe me?. Take a look at this tweet and click on the link.

How to force restart any iOS device with just CSS? 💣

Source: https://t.co/Ib6dBDUOhn

IF YOU WANT TO TRY (DON’T BLAME ME IF YOU CLICK) : https://t.co/4Ql8uDYvY3

— Sabri (@pwnsdx) September 15, 2018

Haddouche contacted Apple last Friday about the attack. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.