TechJunkie is a BOX20 Media Company

Home Mobile iOS 7 Bug Allows Calls to Any Number from Emergency Call Screen

iOS 7 Bug Allows Calls to Any Number from Emergency Call Screen

iOS 7 Bug Allows Calls to Any Number from Emergency Call Screen

Only days after the launch of iOS 7, a second security bug has been found. This time, a bit of button-mashing enables anyone with access to the phone to dial any number from a locked iPhone via the emergency call feature.

For those new to iOS, the platform has traditionally offered users the ability to dial emergency calls — such as 9-1-1 in the U.S. — from a locked device. In iOS 7, the “Emergency” button is located on the bottom left side of the unlock screen. Pressing it will give the user a full dial pad. Attempting to dial any number other than approved emergency numbers based on the phone’s geographic location gives the user an “Emergency Calls Only” message.

iOS 7 Emergency Call Bug

But don’t give up! As noted by YouTuber Karam Daoud, and verified by TekRevue, if the user repeatedly presses the call button after receiving the “Emergency Calls Only” message, the phone screen will eventually turn black, display an Apple logo for about 15 seconds, and then dial the entered number.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_1Tary_Qoc]This can be a potentially serious security issue; in addition to the potential for harmless mischief, nothing prevents unauthorized users from dialing expensive toll numbers, making long distance calls, or engaging in criminal activity that traces back to the unsuspecting phone owner.

Apple is reportedly aware of the issue but has yet to comment publicly on the matter. The release of a new version of iOS frequently reveals security flaws, so we hope that the engineers in Cupertino are working hard on a fix.

Apple Sets New Record with 9M iPhone Sales Over the Weekend

Read Next 

One thought on “iOS 7 Bug Allows Calls to Any Number from Emergency Call Screen”

WorldWideWEB says:
Apple sucks. Why don’t people get that? Oh that’s right, they all subject themselves to commercials on their televisions they watch, thinking it’s the greatest thing.. Greatest shit! It continues to AMAZE me why so many people prefer the Apple iPhone over the Google Android OS. It’s almost hilarious to see people spend so much money on a shitcan that increases in screen size and gets a little thinner every rollout… oh wait, their PROPRIETARY iOS now looks just like Android! AHahaha XD “omg everybody I LOVE the new iOS7 look!” People are inherently stupid. Fn sheep.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Jim Tanous

Sep 23, 2013

676 Articles Published

More