A bug in iOS 6.1 acts as a security flaw, allowing anyone with physical access to an iPhone to bypass the lock screen and access the phone, contacts, voicemail, and photo apps. The flaw was first discovered by YouTube user “videosdebarraquito” and reported by The Verge Thursday.
The steps required to take advantage of the flaw are a bit detailed, making it unlikely that a curious user could inadvertently bypass the lock screen without prior knowledge of the bug. The process, detailed in the video by The Verge, below, involves attempting to turn the phone off, then making, and immediately canceling, an emergency call, and holding down the power and home buttons in sequence.
Jailbreak Nation provides written instructions:
- Lock device
Slide to unlock
Tap emergency call
Hold sleep button until the power down prompt shows. Click cancel, you will notice the status bar turn blue. Type in 911 or your emergency number and click call then cancel it asap so the call dosen’t go through.
Lock your device with the sleep button then turn it on using the home button.
Slide to unlock then hold the sleep button and in 3 seconds tap emergency call. This will spazz out the phone and cause it to open.
The Mac Observer can verify that the flaw works as described on a Verizon iPhone 5 running iOS 6.1, but we did not have the hardware on hand to test it with previous iPhone models. We've contacted Apple for comment on the flaw but have not received a response as of the date of this article.