The image is by Alex Castro.
You should always be careful when receiving invites to a stranger's home.
A new piece of security research has found a vulnerability that can cause a device to freeze, crash, and restart if a user connects to a sabotaged Apple Home device.
The vulnerability can be exploited through Apple's HomeKitAPI, the software interface that allows an iPad app to control compatible smart home devices. If an attacker creates a HomeKit device with a long name and a cycle of freezing and rebooting that can only be stopped by wiping and restoring the device, then an iPad will become unresponsive.
A spoof Home network is the most likely way to cause the exploit.
Signing in to the same account with the same HomeKit device name will cause the crash again, with the cycle continuing until the device owner switches off the option to sync Home devices from iCloud.
If an attacker created a spoof Home network and tricked a user into joining, it is likely that the exploit would be triggered.
To guard against the attack, the main precautions are to immediately reject any invitations to join an unfamiliar Home network. The Control Center can be entered by users of smart home devices to protect themselves. Home devices can be used, but only if the information is accessible through the Control Center.
On January 1, 2022, Spiniolas released information on his website. He was credited by Apple for discovering a vulnerability in macOS Mojave. Spiniolas said that the vulnerability affects the latest version of the software and goes back as far as 14.
Apple was accused of being slow to respond to the initial disclosure, which was made months before the public release. The researcher shared emails that appeared to show an Apple representative acknowledging the issue and requesting Spiniolas refrain from publishing details until early 2022. The vulnerability was reported to Apple on August 10, 2021.
It is frustrating to security researchers who often work for free and it poses a risk to the millions of people who use Apple products in their day-to-day lives by reducing Apple's accountability on security matters.
Apple didn't reply to a request for comment by the time of publication.
