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Locked iPhones Can Be Unlocked Without Password
snydeq writes "Private information stored in Apple's iPhone and protected by a lock code can be accessed by anyone with just a few button presses. Pressing the emergency call button at the unlock screen, followed by two taps on the home button, takes you to the iPhone's private 'favorites' page without the need to enter the unlock code, MacRumors user greenmymac has found. If the owner of the phone has favorite entries in their address book containing URLs, e-mail addresses or mobile phone numbers, then those entries can be used to launch the browser, mail application or SMS software, and gain access to private Web favorites, e-mail messages, and text messages stored in the phone, again without entering the unlock code."
Quick, to the Apple-bashing-mobile
Physical access to hardware means that software-level security can be bypassed!
Pressing the emergency call button at the unlock screen, followed by two taps on the home button, takes you to the iPhone's private 'favorites' page without the need to enter the unlock code
Not quite - it takes you to Favorites or iPod depending on your double-tap shortcut setting. If it's set to the home screen then you are just prompted for the passcode. See here
There's a way to prevent this - set the Home Button to go to Home when double clicked - this simply drops it back to the PIN request (Or, if it's in iPod mode, bring up the basic iPod controls)
I support the Iphone and blackberries, as I say to everyone, "if you want a fun toy, get an Iphone, if you want something secure and a good office tool, get a blackberry." I mean are we really surprised that a device designed for kids with too much money isn't secure?
-Ours is the wisdom of Solomon, the magic of Merlyn, the fall of Icaris.
I can see why an emergency call button is necessary, but why did they change the functionality of it? To my knowledge it was working fine (permitting 911/etc only) in previous generations.
Actually all you need to do is call the iphone, then when the call ends you are back at the home screen unrestricted. On a slightly unrelated note most security articles seem to point out the obvious flaws instead of the clever ones (clearly the iphone lock function is only a slight deterrent)
This is nothing more than a nice backdoor left in there by apple so that they have constant access to your phone.
Yes, because when Apple wants to access my iPhone, they're going to come to my house, pick up the phone, and start pushing buttons....
This guy's the limit!
Doesn't sound impossible to me, considering how many /.er's buttons Apple manages to push remotely.
Blank until
If I've got your iPhone, I can plug it into my Mac and sync all of your contacts/favourites/everything else off with iTunes. And if you've jailbroken it, I can probably get root access with ssh and the "alpine" password, since no-one ever changes that. If I've got physical access to your device there's very little you can do to stop me getting your data unless you've encrypted it.
I've run into all kinds of "kiosk" applications on every platform where this kind of bug exists, from bulletin board systems using applications with shell escapes in the '70s and '80s through "telnet:" URLs in restricted freenix front ends to embedded browsers on dektop operating systems. You can also use similar tricks to get past Apple's kiosk attract mode on Macs in computer stores, an I've run into them in a number of PC vendor demo modes over the years.
When you build a sandbox you have to build it from the inside out. Never introduce anything to the sandbox unless you are absolutely certain that it doesn't have a backdoor. Not "unless you are certain you can close the backdoors"... sandbox programs have to be built around a model that "fails closed"... any action that increases privileges must require an explicit action from outside the program (such as installing a plugin). The amount of effort to build a sandbox out of components that default to an open mode and need to be "locked down" is so much greater that it's easier to reinvent the wheel than patch up the wrong kind of wheel to fit.
This is the 21st century. I can understand defaulting to 4 digit pin, but why can't I choose a longer pin? My gf's Blackberry allows you to enter a much longer string. I have over a 6 digit pin for my ATM card. Why exactly does Apple force people to only have a 4 digit pin for the phone?
What a lame excuse! Just because iphone shits itself when it comes to security does not mean ALL OTHERS do the same. Go do some fucking research and come back later.
Local security does not exist. If someone has access to your hardware, consider it compromised.
Impractical? Hell yes. But that doesn't reality.
Just set your double tap home to disable or ipod. Not much you can do then. But yes, double tap should probably be disabled when locked.
I just wasted your mod points! HA!
Reading out "secure" blackberry data...
What's the model number? From that I can tell you whether or not I have a JTAG, or would have to borrow one from a friend. With a JTAG I can keep it from wiping itself and do anything with your data I want.
If it's an 8000 series (not including the 8707), then it's a ARMv5TE PXA900, which is pretty easy to hack.
Just because your average idiot can't hack something doesn't mean that it's magically unhackable. The value in the device is in the data it contains, not in the cost of the hardware.
-- Terry
Double-click the home button on the PIN screen... nope, goes back to the PIN screen.
Oh, this is a 2.0 firmware thing? Nevermind -- I'm still using the 1.x firmware. Yes, not jailbroken.
Although, the emergency call button will show the time at the top instead of the lock icon... I think I see where the problem could be -- the emergency call screen runs unprotected, and double-click in unlocked app takes you back, either to the PIN screen or your home.
Call self... nope, double-click still takes me to lock screen.
Hi all, I just happened to be browsing apple dev center trying to figure out some details on the bonjour service. I'm not sure I like it running on my network so I wanted to know more... Found the apple security site which lists their known flaws and security bugs. Scrolling through happened to see this one, remembered this post and here ya all go:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1312?viewlocale=en_US
or if you prefer:
*
Passcode Lock
CVE-ID: CVE-2008-0034
Available for: iPhone v1.0 through v1.1.2
Impact: An unauthorized user may bypass the
Passcode Lock and launch iPhone applications
Description: The Passcode Lock feature is
designed to prevent applications from being
launched unless the correct passcode is entered.
An implementation issue in the handling of
emergency calls allows users with physical access
to an iPhone to launch an application without the
passcode. This update addresses the issue through
an improved check on the state of the Passcode
Lock.
Given how repetitive and unoriginal Apple's marketing message, their fanboys, and their shills are, of course people rejecting that message need to be repetitive as well.
You have to have a double-tab of the home key set to take you to Phone Favourites...
I have it set to Home, and it doesn't work.