Apple rushes out fix to Telugu letter text bomb bug

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Apple device owners need to install an update to protect their devices

20 February 2018

Apple has tackled a bug that causes its devices to freeze if they encounter a specific character from the Telugu alphabet - a language native to India.

Following the glitch's discovery, pranksters had used the symbol on social media, private messages and .

Apple has now iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, smartwatches and TV set-top boxes.

It is the latest in a series of "text bomb" flaws to affect Apple devices.

Earlier examples include:

the Chaios bug, which caused the Messages app to freeze or restart if a special link was included in a text
an exploit triggered by messages , a zero, a rainbow emoji and a hidden character
the inclusion of a nonsense word in Arabic

The US firm's security update refers to the latest flaw as a "memory corruption issue" triggered by "processing a maliciously crafted string".

The issue was first reported by the developers .

It affects Apple's Messages app as well as third-party services including Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Twitter, Outlook and Gmail, but not Telegram or Skype, .

The Telugu letter involved is not very common in Telugu words, but because the sound it makes is unusual it cannot be easily substituted with another character when required.

Telugu itself is mostly spoken in south-eastern India, where it is the official language of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.