15 Lines of CSS Code Will Force Restart iPhone iPad iOS 12

Updated Sep 20,2018 | by Joy

As we know, iOS 12 released on September 17, 2018. While you are busy in updating iPhone or iPad to iOS 12, a security researcher Sabri Haddouche who discovered a vulnerability in Webkit (a rendering engine used by Safari browser) that will crash your iOS operating system and restart iPhone and iPad. What has triggered the Webkit vulnerability? Read on.

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The Webkit rendering engine vulnerability can be triggered by loading an HTML page with just 15 lines of code in a cascading style sheet (CSS). The code exploits a weakness in WebKit, which Apple mandates all browsers and apps use. Although the code itself is not very complex, “Anything that renders HTML on iOS is affected,” Haddouche said. That means any link which contains the code can freeze your iPhone and iPad.

Haddouche tweeted a proof-of-concept webpage with 15 lines of CSS code on Twitter and posted the source code of the webpage on GitHub to detail the force restart flaw. When you visit it on your iOS devices, the code will apply a CSS effect named backdrop-filter to a series of nested page elements like <div> tags. It is a processor intensive task that takes up lots of the resource of iOS devices. Then the CSS-based web attack will crash your iOS operating system and restart your iPhone or iPad. And it is confirmed that the most recent iOS 12 beta was also frozen when tapping the link.

Apple has acknowledged the vulnerability and now Apple is actively investigating the issue. With boldness, you can use your iPhone to test the vulnerability by clicking the link, but note that currently there is no available fix for the affected platforms. If you insist on satisfying your curiosity by testing the vulnerability, you can back up all your iPhone files to PC to avoid any data loss.

After all, there’s no way to prevent the attack from working. Once you tap on a booby-trapped link sent in a message or an HTML email that renders the code, your iOS operating system will instantly crash. Therefore, it is quite important to back up iOS files.

If you are looking for an easy tool to back up files from iPhone to computer, check out this iPhone manager - IOTransfer, which enables you to transfer photos, videos, music, contacts, audiobooks, etc. from iOS devices to PC in simple steps. Besides, you can also use it to download videos online from many popular sites and clean up your iPhone or iPad for more storage space. Now, follow the guide below to learn how to back up iPhone files to PC before testing the CSS web attack. 

Related Article: How to back up iPhone Wirelessly

Step 1. Free download IOTransfer here and install it on your computer. Then connect your iPhone or iPad to PC. Note that it works in Windows 7/8/8.1/10. Also, it’s fully Compatible with iOS 12.

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Step 2. Open IOTransfer and you can click “Transfer to PC” to directly transfer “Photos”, “Music”, “Videos” and “Contacts” in the home page to computer for back up.

Step 3. If you want to transfer other files like Audiobooks, Podcasts, and much more, you can go to “MANAGE” at the top menu and then choose the corresponding icons at the left. 

Step 4. Check the files you want to back up and then click “Export” to start transferring.

Bottom Line:

After that, all you files can be transferred from iPhone to computer and then you can safely test the CSS code web attack without worrying about the data loss. 

Bonus Tip: If your iPhone or iPad starts getting slower after upgrading to iOS 12, you can also use IOTransfer to clear cache and cookies on iOS device so that you can enjoy a much faster iPhone experience.

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