A serious Apple iOS bug has been discovered that allows FaceTime users to access the microphone and front facing camera of who they are calling even if the person does not answer the call.
To use this bug, a caller would FaceTime another person who has an iOS device and before the recipient answers, add themselves as an additional contact to Group FaceTime. This will cause the microphone of the person you are calling to turn on and allow the caller to listen to what is happening in the room. Even worse, if the person that is being called presses the power button to mute the FaceTime call, the front facing camera would turn on as well.
What this means, is if someone is calling you on FaceTime, they could be listening and seeing what you are doing without you even knowing.
BleepingComputer has tested and confirmed that this bug works in iOS 12.1.2 and we were able to hear and see the person. When testing it against an Apple Watch, though, we were not able to get the audio portion of the bug to work.
While it is not known who first discovered this bug, numerous people have been posting about it on social media and making video demonstrations as shown below.
Now you can answer for yourself on FaceTime even if they don’t answer #Apple explain this.. pic.twitter.com/gr8llRKZxJ
— Benji Mobb (@BmManski) January 28, 2019
When 9to5Mac first reported on the bug, they were only able to get the microphone snooping working. Later, BuzzFeed reported that they could also access the front facing camera and that Apple stated that they are "aware of this issue and we have identified a fix that will be released in a software update later this week."
Natalie Silvanovich, a Google Project Zero security researcher who has discovered numerous FaceTime issues in the past, has a theory as to how this could be happening.
Theory: FaceTime stores call participants in a list that doesn't allow duplicates, and uses the indexes for signalling. When the caller is added a second time, the entry at index 1 is set to answered, with the expectation that it is the caller ...https://t.co/7OsIYABLsb
— Natalie Silvanovich (@natashenka) January 29, 2019
For those who are rightfully concerned about this bug, my suggestion is that you disable FaceTime immediately until Apple releases a patch. Otherwise, people can not only listen in on what you are doing, but in some cases also see what you are doing. This could allow people to take compromising videos and audio without your knowledge.
To disable FaceTime you can follow these steps:
- Go into Settings
- Tap FaceTime
- Now toggle the FaceTime switch so that it is disabled and your screens looks like the following.
Now that FaceTime is disabled, callers will be unable to utilize this bug to listen and watch you without your permission through FaceTime.
Comments
learning_it - 5 years ago
I am confused. Do ALL the programs listed in the different categories of Autoruns start automatically when starting Windows, or just those listed in the boot category? Some of the categories are blank as well. I have a lot of applications listed.
KeiFeR123 - 5 years ago
I think this article is just talking about Facetime on iPhone.
Lawrence Abrams - 5 years ago
And macOS it seems.
Dominique1 - 5 years ago
learning_it, you should ask your question in the forums area, in WINDOWS more specifically. The above vulnerability only concerns iPhone, iPad & iPod.
cat1092 - 5 years ago
Glad I never enabled FaceTime on my iPhone, of which I was reluctant to purchase, loved my old style flip phones. Yet I needed a smartphone to monitor my home while away, so did what I had to do.
As for the extras, I'm not going to bother & sure won't be doing FaceTime, Twitter & Facebook, all while using Apple Pay on the same device! BTW, I don't use any of these services, although do like getting notifications of emails, as well as tracking, none of which requires FaceTime.
Bottom line, doesn't matter what type of cool features these OEM's adds to devices, there are those who'll take that tech & turn it against the users. I'm forwarding this article to a relative is is basically addicted to FaceTime, maybe she'll wake up.
Cat
KeiFeR123 - 5 years ago
Facetime is actually quite useful if you have family members and friends who use iPhone. For one, I live overseas and I still kept in touch with family members via Facetime. There will always be a compromise when you use these cool features but that doesn't mean you have to stop living.
Perhaps your relative stays in touch with loved ones via Facetime and there is nothing wrong with that.. like i said, forwarding this message to her will keep make her aware of the bugs. Disable Facetime until its fixed but that doesn't mean she'll have to wake up...why because she is addicted to Facetime?