A quirky bug in Apple's Messages application is allowing a malicious GitHub link to cause crashes and other bothersome behavior on both macOS and iOS machines.
Various news sources have credited Twitter user Abraham Masri, aka @cheesecakeufo, with publicly disclosing the bug, referred to as ChaiOS. "Text the link below, it will freeze the recipient's device, and possibly restart it," reads a Jan. 17 tweet from Masri.
After testing the link, 9to5Mac reported that it can make the Messaging app freeze and crash, cause Safari to crash or display the spinning wheel on macOS, force both the sender and recipient's device to respring, cause significant lags, and trigger battery issues.
Masri and news reports have likened ChaiOS to a 2015 attack called "Effective Power," that involved a sequence of texted characters that caused iPhones to reboot.
