Up to iOS 14.6
Crazy Error: This Wifi name shoots down the Wifi function of your iPhone
Be careful with the string “% n ” in the network name, otherwise the iPhone could be paralyzed
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If you give a Wi-Fi a certain name, it shoots up the wireless network settings of iPhones so much that you can permanently prevent other connections.
The phenomenon has so far been known primarily from messages on Whatsapp or Apple’s iMessage: If you send certain cryptic character combinations, this can make the apps unusable. The now discovered equivalent for WLAN names is much less complex in comparison, but even more effective.
If you give your WLAN the less poetic name “%p%s%s%s%s % n” and connect an iPhone to the network, the WLAN function switches off without comment. And even permanently: If you try to activate it again via the settings, it will simply be knocked out again in fractions of a second.
Even a restart does not fix this, the iPhone can neither connect to a WLAN, nor use it for the data transfer function Airdrop. The only current solution is to reset the network connections, as you can learn below.
Found the vulnerability by accident
The reaction to the bizarre network name was described by security researcher Carl Schou. He had found the bug by accident when he connected his iPhone XS to the unusually named Wi-Fi, he said “Bleeping Computers”. When asked about the reasons for the choice of name, he replied: “I use format strings of this kind for all devices. Sh * * * on poorly developed devices.”The error can also be found in the current iOS version 14.6, on Android devices the observed reaction could not be provoked.
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In fact, the string in the iPhone system seems to trigger several errors at once, all of which work on the same principle, other experts found out. Simply put, the string” %n ” in the network name causes the iPhone to develop an ever-longer string out of it until the network settings program code ultimately crashes. Because this happens again and again when the Wlan function is switched on, it switches off again immediately.
The only known solution is to reset the network settings. The option can be found in the settings under “General” and “Reset”. After a confirmation and a restart, the WLAN function should be usable again. Only one security researcher complained on Twitter that this would have brought no remedy.
Nevertheless, the error is probably not a real danger to the general public. On the one hand, the iPhone would have to be specifically logged into a WLAN named in this way, an automatic login into foreign networks is not possible with the iPhone. Even if it comes to logging in, the danger is probably limited to the failure of the Wi-Fi connection: According to an analysis of the security blog “Chichou.me” can’t use the bug to run more malicious software on the device.
Source: www.bleepingcomputer.com, https://twitter.com/vm_call/status/, https://blog.chichou.me/2021/06/20/quick-analysis-wifid/
