Crash Apps by simply typing File:///

[VPrime]

Hey I just found this on hackernews, and thought I would mention it here also.

If you type File:/// in native apps, and many 3rd party apps it will cause the application to crash.
Textedit, spotlight, finder, safari, mail.. even iMessage.

I tried sending an iMessage from my iPhone to my iMac saying File:/// it crashed the iMacs iMessage app. I also can not relaunch the messages app on the iMac as it crashes every time due to that incoming message.

 

[mrsir2009]

Could you send an iMessage from your iPhone to your Mac saying File:/// and the Mac's iMessage would crash?

 

[Partron22]

File:///

That's fairly nasty.
It brings down AppleScript Editor, and Notes, not my browser.

 

[gmanist1000]

Just saw this on 9to5Mac. Let's see if they patch it in 10.8.3

 

[Joesg]

Fun Mountain Lion bug

If you type File:/// in pretty much any text field in 10.8 or later, it will crash the program.

This site will crash Safari, but not Chrome:
http://grack.com/hangsafari.html

 

[mindlessmissy]

Lol ...

I just crashed AppleScriptEditor with this and when I went into Console to see the reason for the crash, Console ALSO crashed ...

 

[GGJstudios]

If you type File:/// in native apps, and many 3rd party apps it will cause the application to crash.

So why would you ever find it necessary to type that, anyway?

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doctor: "So don't do that!"

 

[Partron22]

So why would you ever find it necessary to type that, anyway?

It's like muttering 'Voldemort' under your breath; sometimes it just has to be done.

 

[Futurix]

I think it just crashed my Spotlight

 

[VPrime]

Could you send an iMessage from your iPhone to your Mac saying File:/// and the Mac's iMessage would crash?

Yes.. It will crash the recipients iMessage app on the Mac.. It will also make it impossible to open again.
I'm told sending 80 additional messages will cause messages to open again, at which time you can delete the conversation.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

And that's why you always sanitize inputs..

 

[mrsir2009]

So why would you ever find it necessary to type that, anyway?

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doctor: "So don't do that!"

You could sabotage other people's iMessage application...

...Just sayin'

 

[Puevlo]

What a disaster.

 

[dmrowley]

Filecolonslashslashslashcrashgate...

 

[Porco]

Two forward slashes ought to be enough for anybody!

 

[WrrN]

Two forward slashes ought to be enough for anybody!

On the www, yes.

 

[Mr. Retrofire]

Hey I just found this on hackernews, and thought I would mention it here also.

If you type File:/// in native apps, and many 3rd party apps it will cause the application to crash.
Textedit, spotlight, finder, safari, mail...

AFAIK, this does not work on Leopard and Snow Leopard. If this is real, then it is probably a new feature of Lion/Mountain Lion.

 

[sammich]

Yes.. It will crash the recipients iMessage app on the Mac.. It will also make it impossible to open again.
I'm told sending 80 additional messages will cause messages to open again, at which time you can delete the conversation.

Or, could you just delete that message from an iOS device?

EDIT: I just sent 'FiIe:///' to a group message.

 

[Spink10]

I tried it - was fun!

 

[Watabou]

So why would you ever find it necessary to type that, anyway?

Patient: "Doc, it hurts when I do this."
Doctor: "So don't do that!"

The point here is that it's an easy mistake to make and the apps shouldn't crash but instead give an error.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Doesn't work in Terminal though.

 

[MisterKeeks]

AFAIK, this does not work on Leopard and Snow Leopard. If this is real, then it is probably a new feature of Lion/Mountain Lion.

It does not work on SL. When I get home I will fire up one of my PowerPCs and test Leopard, but it's a pretty safe bet that it won't work.

 

[justperry]

It does not work on SL. When I get home I will fire up one of my PowerPCs and test Leopard, but it's a pretty safe bet that it won't work.

Don't bother, it is not an issue on Leopard, I tried, no problem.

 

[Peace]

I have no idea why anyone would type that unless it was a mistake but I can say that bug is in 10.8.3 build 12D61 . Lets hope the burgeoning stories about it makes the engineers work with those data sets.

 

[turtlez]

I could see this being used in trolling methods. Hope Apple fixes it soon