A strange new bug has surfaced in iOS that can crash your iPhone with just a few characters. This issue was recently discovered by a security researcher on Mastodon. The bug occurs when you type the specific text string `“”::` into the Spotlight Search or App Library on your iPhone. As reported by TechCrunch, you don’t even need to type the exact characters—typing `“”:` followed by any fourth character is enough to cause your device to crash.
Testing and Impact on iOS Versions
9to5Mac conducted tests on several iPhones running different versions of iOS to see how widespread this bug is. On the latest version of iOS 17, typing these characters crashes the Springboard, which is the interface that manages your iPhone’s Home Screen. This causes a “soft” reboot, meaning the Home Screen restarts without fully rebooting the entire phone.
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On the upcoming iOS 18 and iOS 18.1 versions, the effect is slightly less severe. Typing the characters causes Spotlight Search to freeze for a brief moment, but it doesn’t crash the Springboard. The problem only occurs when typing in the Spotlight Search from your Home Screen or in the App Library search bar. Hence, this issue does not affect other areas of your iPhone.
No Major Security Risk, But a Nuisance
While this bug is definitely annoying, security researchers have clarified that it doesn’t pose any significant security risks. There’s no evidence to suggest that anyone can exploit this bug remotely—only the iPhone’s owner can trigger it by typing the characters manually. This makes it much less harmful than previous bugs like the infamous “Effective Power” bug from 2015, which could crash an iPhone just by receiving a particular text message.
Apple hasn’t made any official statement about this bug yet. However, we all know Apple to be a company that is quite quick at fixing such issues via updates. While it’s unlikely that anyone would accidentally type `“”::` regularly, it’s still something to be aware of until Apple releases a fix. If you encounter this bug, you might experience a brief inconvenience, but your iPhone should return to normal after a quick restart.