Did we say Saturday? iPhone OS 3.0.1 out now to block SMS exploit
Maybe it's already Saturday in the UK, or close to it: Apple has released iPhone OS 3.0.1 for iPhone, iPhone 3G & 3GS, an update that patches the phone to prevent bad actors from taking it over or taking it down with the just-demoed SMS exploit. The update weighs in at close to 300 MBabout 230 MB (like all iPhone updates, it's a full image of the OS), and as far as we can tell there are no other fixes or tweaks; just the privilege of continuing to use your iPhone in peace and security.
Update with care, and let us know in the comments how the update works for you!
14:30 ET: Apple's security mailing list just delivered the notes for 3.0.1, they are reproduced in the 2nd half of this post. Also worth noting that the SMS exploit is not endemic to the iPhone alone; both Android and Windows Mobile platforms can be attacked with similar techniques, although Google tells BW that the issue on Android phones is now fixed (presumably through carrier action on T-Mobile's side, not confirmed though).
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA256
APPLE-SA-2009-07-31-1 iPhone OS 3.0.1
iPhone OS 3.0.1 is now available and addresses the following:
CoreTelephony
CVE-ID: CVE-2009-2204
Available for: iPhone OS 1.0 through iPhone OS 3.0
Impact: Receiving a maliciously crafted SMS message may lead to an
unexpected service interruption or arbitrary code execution
Description: A memory corruption issue exists in the decoding of SMS
messages. Receiving a maliciously crafted SMS message may lead to an
unexpected service interruption or arbitrary code execution. This
update addresses the issue through improved error handling. Credit to
Charlie Miller of Independent Security Evaluators, and Collin
Mulliner of Fraunhofer SIT for reporting this issue.
Installation note:
This update is only available through iTunes, and will not appear in
your computer's Software Update application, or in the Apple
Downloads site. Make sure you have an internet connection and have
installed the latest version of iTunes from www.apple.com/itunes/
iTunes will automatically check Apple's update server on its weekly
schedule. When an update is detected, it will download it. When the
iPhone is docked, iTunes will present the user with the option to
install the update. We recommend applying the update immediately if
possible. Selecting "don't install" will present the option the next
time you connect your iPhone.
The automatic update process may take up to a week depending on the
day that iTunes checks for updates. You may manually obtain the
update via the "Check for Update" button within iTunes. After doing
this, the update can be applied when your iPhone is docked to your
computer.
To check that the iPhone has been updated:
* Navigate to Settings
* Select General
* Select About. The version after applying this update will be
"3.0.1 (7A400)" or later
Information will also be posted to the Apple Security Updates
web site: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1222
This message is signed with Apple's Product Security PGP key,
and details are available at:
https://www.apple.com/support/security/pgp/
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: 9.7.2.1608
wsBVAwUBSnMfeXkodeiKZIkBAQhTpgf/VUP+SExD3J3UtFouR4xy1F/3/Zenw28C
zCo3AzaVnE9M3zP2/EH25Rgse5gJtHvtncFTJP9s/Zij/yOmyNJ1MWsSQGHckpDN
2IbE/QEfVza8nO+toRN1V522pwOx758vyIPB18YCoiq7TsG8DTJBlDEC3Apx7Am3
F5gD4D4OWjFcCMo/dm8ksBUa4JGk6GRFcOPY/EQX0R7ZSZ+PlJ4dE7bVnrSKRMxT
fYZEP1k638Ql8vwEKwJYOoD7+sMdtUrNICau3JRklMWJsSK9hM8wnCPwkJSbuqvC
tC7WGmXqD1HMrqtG1tfzXqZR7j4N6phAP9UPtZeyJAE4yPPSb3Kzow==
=roUX
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
