14 DAY TRIAL // Apple kept its promise to fix the infamous character bug that could cause certain messaging apps to crash an iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, or Mac device when it was received with new stable updates for its iOS, macOS, watchOS, and tvOS operating systems.
The iOS 11.2.6 (15D100), macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Supplemental Update (17D102 / 17D2102), tvOS 11.2.6 (15K600), and watchOS 4.2.3 (15S600b) software versions are now available for download on supported iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch devices to fix the issue.
According to Apple's release notes for these new stable software updates, they fix an issue where certain character sequences could cause apps to crash. In more technical words, the updates fix a memory corruption issue, which Apple addressed by improving the input validation in the CoreText component.
All users are urged to update their devices
As expected, Apple recommends all users to update their devices as soon as possible to the new software versions it released today, such as iOS 11.2.6 for iPhone 5s and later, iPad Air and later, and iPod touch 6th generation, tvOS 11.2.6 for Apple TV 4K and Apple TV 4th generation, and watchOS 4.2.3 for all Apple Watch models.
The macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 Supplemental Update is available for all Macs running the macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 operating system. Please note that a reboot is required when you update your Apple devices to correctly install the new software versions, which is done automatically without user's intervention.
The nasty bug was recently unearthed by an anonymous user in Apple's iOS mobile operating systems in the form of an Indian (Telugu) character that could crash messaging apps like Messages, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and even the Mail app, and cause infinite reboot loops when the respective character was received.
The bug was already fixed in the latest beta versions of Apple's upcoming iOS 11.3, macOS High Sierra 10.3.4, tvOS 11.3, and watchOS 4.3 operating systems that the Cupertino-based company plans to release this spring with more enhancements and a bunch of new features that will be revealed in time.