AppleInsiderissupportedbyitsaudienceandmayearncommissionasanAmazonAssociateandaffiliatepartneronqualifyingpurchases.Theseaffiliatepartnershipsdonotinfluenceoureditorialcontent.

AbuginthewayiOShandlesWi-Fihotspotnamesisapparentlyworsethanfirstthought,withonemalformedSSIDfoundtodisableWi-FiaccessonaniPhonecompletely,requiringafactoryresettorectifyit.

InJune,securityresearcherCarlSchoudiscoveredapersonalWi-Fihotspotnameof"%p%s%s%s%s%n"causesproblemsforiOSdevices.ItwasfoundthatiPhonessimplycouldn'tconnecttothehotspot,andinfactdisabledWi-Ficonnectivityinsomeinstances.

WhilethatissuecouldbefixedbyresetingthenetworksettingswithiniOS,SchouhassincediscoveredavariantalongthesamelinesthatcancausemoreharmtoanunsuspectingiPhone.AccordingtoSchouinatweetonSunday,usingtheSSID"%secretclub%power"candisableaniOSdevice'sWi-Ficapabilities,withnoguaranteethatanetworksettingsresetwillrestoreconnectivity.

YoucanpermanentlydisableanyiOSdevice'sWiFIbyhostingapublicWiFinamed%secretclub%powerResettingnetworksettingsisnotguaranteedtorestorefunctionality.#infosec#0day

—CarlSchou(@vm_call)July4,2021

New malformed Wi-Fi name bug can require iPhone factory reset to fix

SchouclaimstheiPhoneusedtoteststilldidn'thaveWi-FiafterrepeatedresetsofnetworksettingsandaforcedrestartoftheiPhone.TheresearcherhasalsocontactedApple'sdevicesecurityteamoverthematter,buthasyettohearanythingback.

Theoriginalbugwasbelievedtobeanissuewithinputparsing,wherethepercentagesigncouldbemisinterpretedbyiOSasastring-formatspecifier,namelythatcharactersfollowingthesymbolcouldbeconsideredavariableoracommandinsteadofplaintext.

WhilethenewSSIDdoesjokinglypromoteSecretClub,atechnologyexplorationgroupSchouisinvolvedwith,theuseofthepercentagesignsfollowedbythecharactersSandParemostlikelytheproblemareasforthehotspotnamebug.Analysisoftheissueconfirmsaformatstringbugisbehindit,thoughitdoesn'tseemtobeahighlyexploitablevulnerabilityforabadactor.

ItishighlylikelythattherearemanymorecombinationsoftextstringsthatcouldcauseproblemswithiniOSinthismanner,butonlyuntilthebugispatchedoutbyApple.Whilethecompanyisbeta-testingiOS14.7andiOS15,itisuncleariftheissuewillbefixedinthosereleasesbythecompany.

Forthemoment,AppleInsiderrecommendsusersdon'tconnecttounfamiliarWi-Fiaccesspoints,especiallyiftheyincludeunusualsymbols.

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