iPhone Vulnerability: Return Of The Lock Screen Bypass
How do these errors resurface after being fixed? In Apple's case, the problem could be a weakness in their test plans or procedures
Reports yesterday of a lock screen bypass in the iPhone 5 noted that a "similar" bug was found in iOS 4.1 and fixed in 4.2. In both cases, the lock screen, which is only supposed to let you make emergency calls or enter the lock code, allows the user to perform other functions, like make other phone calls. How do these errors resurface after being fixed? In Apple's case, the problem could be a weakness in their test plans or procedures.
When an error that was fixed shows up again later it is called a regression error. Regression errors generally are when some change to the program, a new version or software patch, breaks some feature of the program. Security fixes are one type of feature that could be broken.
Controlling regression errors is a matter of proper documentation and testing. Good code documentation should at least give future developers the chance to recognize that changes will affect the feature. But it's testing that is the key to preventing regressions.
Read the full article here.
Have a comment on this story? Please click "Discuss" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message.
About the Author
You May Also Like
A Cyber Pros' Guide to Navigating Emerging Privacy Regulation
Dec 10, 2024Identifying the Cybersecurity Metrics that Actually Matter
Dec 11, 2024The Current State of AI Adoption in Cybersecurity, Including its Opportunities
Dec 12, 2024Cybersecurity Day: How to Automate Security Analytics with AI and ML
Dec 17, 2024The Dirt on ROT Data
Dec 18, 2024